Canoe and Kayak Criminal Rescue Safety Scam: 1500 Canadian
and American Adults and Children Die Agonizing Deaths Since 1993.

Tim Ingram

Copyright 2006, Tim Ingram
All rights reserved.
No part of this book shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or
transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording,
or
otherwise, without written permission from the author.

When I began canoeing at summer camp over 40 years ago, my YMCA camp
knew that the traditional canoe rescues ("shaking out" and "canoe over
canoe"), did not work. Especially in waves.
The rescuing canoes were simply capsized as well. This was well documented
in the tragedy on Lake Temiskaming, 1978 (12 schoolchildren died and one
adult, who were all well-practised in traditional rescues.) The famous
Canadian canoeist Bill Mason reversed his traditional rescue ideas after
this tragedy, stating that these rescues simply cannot work, in his last
book: "canoe over canoe...I have since changed my mind..." ("Song of
the Paddle", 1988, p.126). In his earlier book "Path of the Paddle"
(1984), he referred to the 13 dead from St. John's School on p.177: "No
blame can be laid because they assumed help was coming." The "help" was
the "canoe over canoe" rescue that he finally concluded was false, 10 years
after C.E.S. Franks, concluded in "The Canoe and White Water", 1977,
p.123: "...nearly useless...On a stormy lake where upsets are likely to
occur, the water is often too rough and choppy." A year later, 13 died
on Lake Temiskaming! We
understood our duty to preserve human life at my YMCA camp. Other camps
apparently thought the "machismo" and difficulty of 'rescues", resulting
in "unavoidable deaths" was a positive and "character-building" exercise
for society.

For the victims, this is a degrading falsehood, shared with torture
regimes, rather than civilized society. This point is rather obvious. One
does not normally attempt to create as many canoe and kayak deaths as possible.
For the State, in Homeland Security and Transport Canada to deliberately
condone and endorse this is criminal. Differing from the Nuremberg Trials
in scope; but not in the cruel and terrorized quality of the deaths!
The US Coast Guard and Transport Canada know how cruel these deaths are.
One could only be a moron without this cognizence.

According to a Transport Canada publication now available on
the internet: "Hypothermia is your worst enemy...Even in July, a dunking
in the waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence can lead to total loss of manual
dexterity within 5 minutes and death within 15 to 20." (Sea Kayaking Safety
Guide, National Library of Canada ISBN 2-89101-179-1, 2003, p.55)

A reasonable person with a normal standard
of respect for human life would naturally provide for the easy preservation
of human life in such circumstances, would they not?

And they would be criminals in any civilized
society for cruelly and deliberately killing hundreds and even thousands
of victims in North America in cold waters, would they not?
Waters are cold enough throughout North America to induce agonizing deaths
by hypothermia and drowning any time of the year. (In Canada and the Northern
States, the death rate is much higher since ice protects against this death
for many months.)

The best canoe safety idea at my YMCA camp was to stay close to shore.
And we were required to be able to swim a long distance to qualify for
a canoe trip. (We were expected to "swim" with the canoes to shore, since
the canoes contained the gear to keep warm and stay alive.) Waterproofed
packs were well-tied-in to provide internal buoyancy, as Bill Mason later
suggested. Canoe packs are much lighter than the weight of the volume of
water they displace, i.e. they float. Besides, it is crazy to think of
heavy packs being unloaded from a capsized canoe, everyone in the cold
water. Then the canoe is emptied by pulling it out of the water upside
down over a rescuing canoe, then righted and returned to the water where
the heavy packs are put back in again. Finally the cold victims get back
in, if the rescuing canoe has not also been capsized by all of this! Maine
guides and many instructors have failed. No wonder Bill Mason changed his
mind after Temiskaming. The kids who survived this tragedy swam to shore
immediately while wearing PFDs. It is also noteworthy that forgetting the
flawed "canoe over canoe", and just trying to get victims out of the water
into an uncapsized canoe, simply results in more capsizes; as documented
in "Deep Waters". Any rescuing canoe must be effectively stabilized
by $25 CO2 airbags, or similar effective buoyancy; otherwise more victims
go into the water to die.

A fact noted by an important ACA Hall of Fame member. " The recent 2005
book "Expedition Canoeing" states: "The canoe-over-canoe rescue
touted by the Red Cross and Boy Scouts is generally impossible to perform
in a running sea. Far better to forget about the swamped canoe and gear
and put your efforts into rescuing the paddlers" (p.202, Cliff Jacobson
of the American Canoe Association.) But most other authors note the victims
in the water can't be gotten out of the water either either! Consider where
to put these living bodies among the packs, quite apart from the dangers
of dragging victims over unstabilized gunwales, (in
contrast to the Pictures of two 10 year old Girls, with neither previous
experience, nor deadly, fraudulent instruction.)

Note: (in case you missed it), American Canoe Association Hall
of Fame member Cliff Jacobson: "The recent 2005 book "Expedition Canoeing"
states: "The canoe-over-canoe rescue touted by the Red Cross and Boy Scouts
is generally impossible to perform in a running sea. Far better to forget
about the swamped canoe and gear and put your efforts into rescuing the
paddlers" (p.202, Cliff Jacobson of the American Canoe Association's Hall
of Fame.) However, in
Deep Waters, James Raffan notes that Jacobson's
idea merely capsized more canoes, killing 12 boys and one leader, Ontario's
Lake Temiskaming, 1978."

But the deadly "canoe over canoe" rescue is still taught by American
Canoe Association (ACA) instructors, in the US and Canada. It takes
a lot of time to "teach", it is profitable, and it is difficult enough
to make some customers think that the instructors are "masterful" when
they take their money. Many customers do not
realize that they are being cheated of a simple and inexpensive,
built-in life raft: Concealed in two small containers, one on each side
of a canoe or kayak. Lightweight, they are almost unnoticeable, but for
the words: "emergency rescue", according to the US patent.

It is obvious that simply adding sufficient beam buoyancy (about 80
lbs. of buoyant force), to the widest point on each side of a kayak or
canoe makes a Life Raft, even if fully flooded and loaded with gear. In
fact, leaning on one float will spill most of
the water out of an open canoe, like the canoes used on Lake
Temiskaming and at summer camps. However, even small waves can quickly
refill a canoe, so it is very important that a canoe can be easily paddled
to shore, even if flooded over the gunwales.

Over 6 years ago I told my 2 daughters, then 7 and 10 years of age,
to clip on the floats and paddle a fully flooded canoe to shore standing
up. They were able to easily do this without any previous instruction or
experience, moving at about 2 knots. The pictures (see below) are still
on the website
http://www.sponsonguy.com and the floats (normally called
sponsons), are usually set lower than in the pictures. The position of
the sponson floats in the pictures enabled water to be over the gunwales,
otherwise some of this enormous volume of water would have normally
spilled out. And if you simply leaned on one airbag sponson, most of
the water would have spilled out! In waves, open canoes are quickly filled,
as in the Girl Guide Inquest account in this book. So it is important,
for the value of human lives, that canoes are also able to be paddled by
young, 10 year old children, even if the canoe (or kayak) is fully flooded.
Beam Buoyancy makes this possible; as is obvious to anyone of normal intelligence.

The point of the pictures was to demonstrate absolutely maximum possible
flooding, and also the heaviest possible canoe: Easily paddled at 2
knots by 2 very young children. This canoe is so heavy that it is not easily
affected by capsizing waves, due to the great neutral buoyancy ballast
that is created by all of that water inside.

Kayaks are usually much narrower than open canoes, and require the lowest
possible seating arrangement to avoid constant capsize. If the weight of
the paddler exceeds the buoyant force created by the immersed volume of
the beam of the kayak, the kayak will capsize. Wider kayaks are less likely
to capsize since there is more transverse buoyancy than a narrower kayak,
in waves or calm water. (Only wide canoes and kayaks, using sponsons or
equivalent beam buoyancy have crossed the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.)
But some instructors and manufacturers fraudulently state that narrower
kayaks and canoes are more stable in waves!

The truth is a simple stability equation that is understood by elementary
school students. This is why the kayaker must try to keep body weight centered.
If body weight leans to either side too far, and the transverse (beam buoyancy)
of the kayak is exceeded, it will capsize. This is a simple scientific
fact. And no boat is immune from this fact. Ships capsize when cargo shifts.
The
Law of Gravity makes any weight in a kayak a downward force. And if
there is not enough buoyant force operating upwards, (if the kayaker leans
sideways for example), the kayak will capsize, in waves or swimming pools.

Many canoe and kayak publications mislead readers, stating that narrower
kayaks (and canoes) are more stable in waves! It appears that this
is an attempt to squeeze more dollars for Eskimo rolling lessons. The narrow
kayak is perceived as easier to roll, but also capsizes more often (to
encourage lesssons). Narrower kayaks have less transverse stability to
begin with, and that creates deadly problems without emergency stability.
See:
http://www.sponsonguy.com

Kayakers attempt to stabilize kayaks sideways by using the paddle to
provide a "bracing" force against the Force of Gravity. But if this "brace"
is insufficient to counteract the Force of Gravity, or a mistake is made,
capsize will inevitably follow. And then the kayak must have sufficient
emergency stability (provided by the sponson floats on both sides of the
kayak), to permit the kayaker to get out of the water and resist capsizing
again in the same conditions, (that have not magically disappeared). The
Life Raft concept for kayaks and canoes has existed since 1993 in all
major publications, and even before that in others. Over one thousand
(1000) US deaths have occurred since then.

Life Rafts are the marine safety standard world-wide. All soldiers
on all sides in both world wars, had both life rafts and life jackets.
Unless the human body is out of the water, where body heat is sucked out
at a rate about 25 times faster than the rate in air, hypothermia quickly
weakens victims: They drown when they cannot hold their heads above the
water, wearing a PFD or not.

Obviously canoes and kayaks create much greater risk of capsize and
fatal immersion than any other type of watercraft. They have been deliberately
denied any kind of emergency stability for over ten years, despite the
highest recreational death toll by far, compared to any other boat. This
safety scam by the American Canoe Association (ACA) has deliberately
tricked the US Coast Guard for ten years.

Sometimes victims are blamed for not wearing wetsuits and drysuits.
However, on hot days or even warm days, the wearers risk heatstroke and
become extremely uncomfortable. Enron style marketing in the paddling industry
tries to sell all kinds of very costly paraphernalia, although this
gear cannot get human bodies out of the water to save lives.

The Drowning Business Plan sells everything but a means to save
lives in a canoe or kayak. It is apparent that not selling the inexpensive
Life Raft makes it possible to sell much more expensive paraphernalia,
that otherwise could not be easily justified. That is, if all citizens
had a means to quickly escape the killing water: A simple and inexpensive
built-in Life Raft.

When I began kayaking on the Great Lakes and the oceans surrounding
North America, about 1985, I was well aware of the inherent dangers of
kayaks, as well as canoes. I protected myself with a wetsuit, since the
water was always cold and the air was usually cool. I always wore a PFD
that fitted very snugly, so that I could swim to shore if necessary. I
was aware that rolling a kayak in order to save my life was a foolish
risk to take. My friends realized this too. Most people realize this,
since so few people can roll a kayak after hours of instruction, even in
a swimming pool. Let alone trusting their lives in real conditions. Even
experts who claim to have rolled for years sometimes "lose the knack."
And they have to go back for more instruction. This is well documented
in newsgroups, books and magazines.

There are literally hundreds of uncontrollable variables that can interfere
with a successful roll, and cause death. There are dozens of other rescues
that are regarded as very "poor" compared to Eskimo rolling, but are sold
because Eskimo rolling is so deadly and so rare; if it is used as a means
to save lives, instead of being a mere trick.

It also makes no sense to rely on another paddler in another vulnerable
craft to rescue you. They are just as vulnerable to capsize in the same
conditions. A number of recent deaths in the US and Canada have revealed
that would-be rescuers have been forced to leave companions, to die
in the water after unsuccessful rescues. Kayaks cannot rescue a swimmer
from the water, by trying to transport the victim on the rear deck, without
risking capsizing as well. This is pretty obvious. It is also obvious that
any kayak (or canoe) with sponson floats deployed can easily carry a victim
on the rear deck. In fact more than one victim. A windsurfer won an award
recently in Canada for rescuing 2 fishermen from the water with only his
board, and no effective paddle.

A canoe or kayak can easily be transformed into a rescue craft capable
of rescuing others, whether they be other paddlers, or simply other victims
in the water, like capsized fisherpersons. Canoes and kayaks can be a positive
rescuing force in society, rather than "another accident waiting to happen."

Why murder (what else is it?) so many people deliberately, with cruel
and extremely deadly instruction? This is against the law and creates much
cost to society, apart from pain and suffering. It is also a poor way to
sell a sport.

This is the Enron Style Canoe and Kayak Drowning Business. And
they continue to lure citizens into canoes and kayaks with no means to
escape the deadly water, despite thousands of warnings. This is the remarkable
point. They operate as an organized business to defraud the public, but
they murder (what else is it) far more than organized crime. They make
Enron look good in comparison.

This business has a consistent message: "Make kayaks (or canoes) as
deadly as possible to leave innocent citizens, including children, to die
in the water (where body warmth is sucked out at a rate 25 times faster
than air.)" Instead of a simple CO2 sponson Life Raft, deployed by pulling
a tab, like any life raft or inflatable PFD, in 5 seconds. (These sponsons
are contained in sleekly mounted containers marked "emergency rescue",
so anyone, even a novice, can easily get out of the killing water, and
even paddle to safety.) These are factory installed, $50 US, for each canoe
or kayak. They are manufactured identically to US Coast Guard approved
Inflatable PFDs, that can be inflated by mouth as well as a gas cartridge.
These sponsons have about 80 lbs. of buoyancy.

These sponsons also have identical reliability to US Coast Guard approved,
Inflatable PFDs!

If you have internet access, you can go to the US Patent Office website
and put # 6,343,562 into the SEARCH box.

These lifesaving containers are so small that no-one could reasonably
object to their existence. However the Canoe and Kayak Drowning Business
obviously has objected for nearly 3 years (250 US deaths). And the American
Canoe Association (ACA) has objected to all of the other types of sponson
life rafts since 1993-94, (1000 US deaths, about 500 Canadian deaths).
They obviously feel entitled to profit by murdering innocent people.

This book documents the process of the acceptance of the Canoe and Kayak
Life Raft Sponsons in 1993 as "far superior safety". The US Military kayakers
confirmed this in their study 1994, (10th Airbourne, Special Forces). But
the Instructors' lobby group, The American Canoe Association (ACA), condemned
any type of sponson, at the same time! The original documents from the
American Canoe Association to the Attorney General of Florida, as well
as many other documents in this process, are contained in this book. This
ACA action ultimately murdered 1000 US citizens and now the US Coast Guard
has launched an investigation.

I have children. My children have other children as friends.
All of these children and their loved ones are now at needless risk due
to an unregulated and "murder for profit" Canoe and Kayak Business. The
ethical people in this business must corrupt themselves by selling instruction
that they know does not work. But they must sell this instruction due to
the canoe and kayak market created. In this plan safety is not sold. Deadly
risks and lies, sold as "safety", prevail.

The tiny US canoe and kayak industry not only offends centuries of Maritime
Lifesaving Ethics, it creates tremendous costs to society, beyond the pain
and suffering of victims' families.

This are many good reasons for this book. The American Canoe Association
(ACA) threatened me with libel action three years ago for saying that they
were killing people. Then they changed their minds. Apparently they don't
want to see any court now. About three hundred people have died in the
US in these three years.

Berieved families who have lost a breadwinner are impoverished. Any
family who has lost a loved one is impoverished in many ways. If they try
to get some compensation from an insurance company, their loved one is
usually blamed for dying, even though they were denied a simple and inexpensive,
built-in Life Raft.

Most lawyers don't know that these victims were cheated of a simple
and reasonable way to get out of the deadly water. There are many good
reasons for this book.

Canoes and kayaks can bring much joy to citizens. But they need to be
much safer. And there is no reason why society should not be told about
the facts in this book. Society must be told these facts.

Canoes and kayaks can be wonderful and very safe craft for the public.
Canoes and kayaks need not be sold according to a macho business plan that
kills more people than any other type of watercraft.

At my YMCA there was no macho attitude that placed some persons at
a higher value than others. Water safety at my YMCA camp did not prey
on normal human weaknesses, and my YMCA placed the highest value on every
human life. Now kids at YMCA camps are endangered by canoe and kayak instruction.
Not to mention Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts.

When society allows any business to make money in an unregulated environment,
the risk of cheating is high. Just look at charges against Enron now. Canoes
and kayaks have evolved into efficient killing machines, far more deadly
than any other boats, and even the vehicles of the recent Ford/Firestone
scandal.

It was a great surprise to me to discover that the canoe and kayak industry
was dominated by "macho" bullies. I had thought safety was the most
important ingredient in the Canoe and Kayak Industry. I had no idea
12 years ago that canoes and kayaks would be sold with the intention of
making them as dangerous as possible, to sell instruction that cannot save
lives: For short-term profit. The next chapters detail this story of deliberate
deception and death. Enron only took money.

Canoe and Kayak Skills, and Misleading Safety

Who could be against skills? Swimming skills are very good insurance
against drowning. Canoe and kayak paddling skills are very worthwhile to
try to escape fast changing weather conditions and get to safety. Canoe
and kayak skills are essential to avoid capsize, by making these craft
as stable as possible: Just as driving skills are necessary to avoid accidents
in the first place. However, capsizes will always happen, and people need
to be able to rescue themselves as easily as possible. It is also desirable
for canoes and kayaks to be able to rescue other victims who may be dying
in the water, more victims than than just the original paddlers. This is
simple with a canoe and kayak life raft that can be easily paddled to safety.
This is a benefit to society in general: Watersafety. Canoes and kayaks
are easily and inexpensively transformed into Rescue Craft that can reduce
all deaths in the water, unrelated to paddling. See:
http://www.sponsonguy.com

Even the best swimmers are advised to wear a snugly fitting PFD, since
swimming skills may not be enough to avoid drowning. Canoe and kayak paddling
skills may not be enough to avoid the hazards of fast changing weather
on the water. Even the best skills to make kayaks and canoes as stable
as possible cannot avoid capsize, since all skills can fail unexpectedly,
and all kayaks and canoes are vulnerable to flooding. A flooded canoe or
kayak has all of the stability of a floating log. Victims are unable to
escape killing immersion in the water, even in relatively "warm" waters
in Florida (70 degrees F.) Immersion quickly reduces the capacity of human
bodies to function, suffering from hypothermia, and causes death in a relatively
short time, unless they can get out of the water. Seatbelts are law, in
order to avoid serious injury or death, since driving skills alone cannot
avoid potentially fatal accidents.

The ACA documents below, show how the canoe and kayak industry has deliberately
worked against any simple means to give canoes and kayaks built-in safety,
to enable people to get out of the water, no matter how young or inexperienced.

Or the victim of negligence, as the Death of Jim Heil, Sept.14/02,
Grand Rapids Press, Sept.16/02 illustrated. Just like hundreds of other
dead victims who were left in the water by companions, because the companion
risked capsize too, trying to get the victim onto the rear deck of a kayak
without life raft sponsons, so that they could easily be paddled to shore.
(Windsurfers and other rescuers have saved the lives of victims in the
water, just by having a rescue platform stable enough to get them out of
the water, without capsizing themselves.) This is pretty simple.

Apparently the ACA (despite "libel" threats three years ago), and other
canoe and kayak instructor groups, now do not want to risk showing the
judge and jury of any court, just how "easy" their instruction is. In fact
ACA canoe and kayak instruction denies the one essential item that can
make canoes and kayaks into effective rescue craft: A CO2 sponson life
raft. Or any type of sponson life raft.

What is preventing canoes and kayaks from creating a Life Raft in seconds,
using simple, cheap ($50 US, factory installed) built-in Sponsons? These
floats, each in a sleekly mounted container on each side of a kayak or
canoe are marked "emergency-rescue". They are inflated by mouth in about
10 puffs, or instantly by means of a CO2 cartridge.

Once these Life rafts are created, each canoe or kayak (the more flooded
the better) can be easily re-entered, even by disabled victims. The lower
the flooded canoe or kayak is in the water, the easier getting back in.

All modern Life Rafts have a built-in boarding platform, like all FAA
approved airliner Life Rafts. Rope ladders and slings are much harder to
use. It is better that the end of a canoe or kayak sink under the weight
of the victim who needs only to slide into the canoe or kayak. This is
the way FAA Life Raft Boarding Platforms work. The boarding platform enables
the victim's weight to be supported while sliding into the Life Raft. It
requires much more strength and agility to use a step to hoist body weight
out of the water.

The ends of a canoe, or the rear deck of most kayaks sink under body
weight to enable victims to get out of the water.

Once out of the water, the victim's chances of life are much improved,
since loss of body warmth in water is about 25 times the rate in air. Additionally,
in a distinct advantage over airliner life rafts, the victim may paddle
to shore at about 2 knots (like the 7 and 10 year old girls mentioned in
the Introduction.) Even if the victim cannot paddle to safety for some
reason, the chances of survival are greatly increased. People have lived
for days on Life Rafts, once they are out of the water.

My original canoe and kayak Life Raft sponsons (US Patent application
1987) are about 40 inches long, and 6 inches in diameter when inflated.
These sponsons are not as powerful or as effective as the $25 CO2 Sponsons
(US Patent # 6,343,562). At the time of the earlier patent, US Coast
Guard approved CO2 "inflatable" PFDs were quite new. The CO2 gas cartridge
inflator and the oral inflator were relatively expensive, compared to today.
In addition, I had expected that instructors and the canoe and kayak
industry would embrace sponsons most readily if they were as inexpensive
as possible, and most importantly, could be immediately be fitted to any
existing kayak by simply tying fasteners to existing deck hardware. So
the value of these original sponsons could be easily demonstrated on any
kayak. These sponsons could simply be clipped to these fasteners in an
emergency and inflated by mouth. No need to bolt a sleek container to the
side of a canoe or kayak. I had expected that this first generation sponson
Life Raft, as advertised in magazines, would be readily accepted as common
sense.

And initially these sponsons were quickly accepted:

1. The largest North American padding magazine: Canoe (now called
Canoe
and Kayak Magazine), July, 1993, p.66 stated: "Although the paddle
float system has been widely promoted as the standard self-rescue device,
sea kayakers should give serious consideration to the Sea Wing sponson
system. The chief advantages are capsize prevention on both sides of the
kayak and freeing up your paddle for other important work (like propulsion...Inflated
the sponsons are 40 inches long, 6 inches wide, but hug the kayak closely
so you can still paddle with minimum interference...The sponsons inflate
quickly with a dozen puffs, making them ideal for any age paddler. I thought
these were a better idea, and have turned my old paddle float bag into
a camera case."

2. Sea Kayaker Magazine, Winter 1993, p.34, "Sea Wings to the
Rescue": "So when Sea Kayaker gave me the opportunity to put Tim's product
to the test, some friends and I put them to work in conditions ranging
from the calm waters of a lake to three-foot following seas. We even tried
them in turbulent water just beyond the surf zone on the barrier island
between Jamaica Bay and the Atlantic Ocean...Once you have the Sea Wings
fitted and adjusted, its advantages over a paddle float become clear. To
use a paddle float, a certain amount of instruction and practice is needed.
But with Sea Wings, I simply told my volunteer how to snap the four buckles,
inflate the sponsons, and climb back aboard. After forcing a capsize, he
followed my directions and was back in his kayak without any problems.
Even my larger, less-agile friends were able to crawl into their boats
without much struggle, whereas climbing aboard with a paddle float, even
in calm conditions, is not something everyone, particularly the sick and
injured, has the agility or strength to accomplish. We had one friend pretend
to be unconscious. While getting him back in his boat was a bit of a struggle,
towing him was surprisingly simple. The drag was noticeable, but even though
it was partially filled with water, the kayak remained remarkably stable.

The stability they impart to a kayak after reentry is Sea Wings' greatest
strength. How often have you seen people using a paddle float complete
a successful reentry only to capsize again (easy to do with a boat filled
with water) while trying to free their paddle from the bungies or remove
and store the paddle float?...With Sea Wings, even a water-logged boat
is stable enough to be paddled away, before it's fully pumped out. Sea
Wings can remain in place indefinitely...Sea Wings are simply the best
and easiest-to-use self-rescue device on the market today."

These are a few of the reviews, to give the idea of how positive the
initial reception was.

A Canadian Coast Guard Search and Rescue Officer left the Canadian Coast
Guard Headquarters and visited a local kayak store in Victoria, B.C. in
August 1994, to ask the instructors for their opinions on sponsons. They
told him enthusiastically that sponsons were much better than a paddle
float. This was the same general response that the US Military Kayakers
wrote up in their Sponson Evaluation in 1994. But the owner of the store
stated: "Sponsons prevent rescue". This Canadian Coast Guard "study" has
apparently been "covered-up" for some reason. There have been many hundreds
of Canadian deaths since 1994.

At this time, despite the obvious successful reception to this commonsense
sponson safety, I was made aware that there was strong opposition to sponsons
too. Wayne Horodowich, Instructor Trainer for the Trade Association of
Sea Kayaking (now called the Trade Association of Paddlesports), initially
endorsed the sponsons, that were generally regarded as far superior to
paddlefloats at "Trade Days", 1993. This event preceded the annual West
Coast Sea Kayaking Symposium by 2 days, so people in the industry could
discuss issues. Not surprisingly, with so many deaths and close calls,
"Safety" was always the hottest topic.

There were stories about Matt Broze "self proclaimed inventor of the
paddle float" going home in a huff, after the "sponson endorsement". Others,
while freely admitting that the sponson life raft concept was superior,
saw no problem with still selling inferior safety ideas to the public.
In fact it appeared that the more ideas they had to sell, the better it
would be for "business".

Some said sponsons were "too safe" and that deaths
were necessary to make the public respect kayaks (and canoes.)
It also looked as if instructors were worried
that the public could become independent of their instruction fees.
More on this below, after the ACA letter.

(I mention canoes in this book since they have similar safety problems,
and instructors also deny canoes any form of sponson life raft. However,
there are almost no canoe symposiums. And no canoe symposiums are on the
scale of the sea kayaking symposiums.)

These people appeared to have no concept of uniform safety standards
to best protect the public. Despite the fact that uniform safety standards
have been the core concept to all consumer products. For example pharmaceutical
products and electrical appliances must past standards in order to be sold
in the marketplace. Cars must have seatbelts etc.

In fact the general idea was to give all ideas, no matter how difficult
to execute, equal value. As if the public after capsize had the time to
go through the list of possibilities offered. Any perusal of the popular
dozen or so sea kayaking books on the market will give one an idea of this
wide variety of rescues sold to the public. The one thing they all have
in common is that they lack the single necessity to prevent death: A means
to get out of the water and stay out. A life raft concept is the world
standard, to get victims out of the water and keep them out.

This is a pretty simple idea. If most people die in the water, then
keep them out of the water and deaths will decrease.

This is one example, where no other known means could have saved this
life:

"I am Austin Davis. My life was saved by your floats.
[See article in Sea kayaker Dec 97] There was no way in my situation that
any other means of recovery would have saved me or allowed me to get home
upright in my hypothermic condition. Your opinion about the rolls and paddle
floats mirror my real life experience. Thanks for the gear that saved my
life. I hope the article in sea kayaker helps your cause."

Austin was sailing a 26 foot sailboat that suddenly sank about ten miles
off the coast of Texas. He was using a sea kayak with sponsons as a tender
to his sailboat, deploying sponsons when he needed more stability to paddle
supplies to the mothership.

Suddenly, after his sailboat sank, he was floating in heavy, breaking
seas at night with only the kayak nearby. He was able to clip on and inflate
the sponsons (that were secured to the cockpit) and fortunately he had
tied a paddle to the kayak. So without a pump or sprayskirt (these items
are nearly impossible to use in these conditions anyway), he was able to
paddle the flooded kayak about ten miles in heavy seas to shore.

He bought his sponsons in 1994. Very few sponsons are sold every year.
Only a few hundred pairs. One wonders how many other lives could have been
saved if the public were not deliberately lied to.

Wayne Horodowich, apparently under pressure in 1994 from other instructors,
reversed his very positive 1993 position on sponsons and condemned them
as unworkable. I have all of the documentation. He had told me of pressure
from other instructors, and general disapproval of sponsons while filming
the "Performance Sea Kayaking Video", referred to in the ACA letter
to the Attorney General of Florida. But I only found out who these people
were, including the ACA, much later. This was after I had finally sent
letters to all Attorneys General in all States in 2001, below.

In the intervening years from 1994 to year 2001, I could only watch
as the industry killed innocent people by expecting them to perform wildly
impossible skills, that even failed expert instructors on unlucky days.
The magazines were not interested in a rational discussion of safety. There
were even organized sponson boycotts against any retailer that sold sponsons.
The USCG sponson study has all of this documentation.

Instead, the impossible rescues included paddle float rescues that everyone
already knew had deadly defects. And rolling was pushed as the best rescue,
although experts routinely failed themselves, just like the World Champion
Rollers of Greenland (Sea Kayaker Magazine, February, 2001, p.41).

I patented a type of float carried on the rear deck of kayaks, like
the harpoon floats shown in photos of Arctic hunters. This invention carried
a sleeping bag or other lightweight buoyant items, as well as flares and
survival gear in pouches. This invention was able to get a capsized victim
out of the water in seconds, to escape hypothermia. Like a very primitive
life raft. (The Aleut, among other Arctic groups, used double harpoon floats,
instead of a larger single type. These were held in the water for stability
on both sides, like sponsons. However, they could not then paddle. It was
risky to secure floats against skin covered kayaks for fear that a hole
would be rubbed through the covering, with catastrophic results.)

The Canoe and Kayak Business did not want this float either.
I had thought that an academic approach to canoe and kayak safety, using
anthropological documentation, would make the industry see commonsense.
No. They apparently enjoyed the profits of teaching more potential victims
to be dependent on the "experts". And apparently, they enjoyed the power
over life and death. We know how vulnerable the public is, in a situation
that is apparently endorsed by police and Coast Guard officials.

I was repeatedly told that the US Coast Guard endorsed these instruction
ideas, instead of sponsons. In fact, the US Coast Guard was deliberated
misled, leading to 1000 dead US victims, as you can see in the ACA letter
below. So the ACA tricked the Coast Guard to endorse paddle floats on USCG
websites, although the ACA and most authors readily acknowledged the paddle
float was very tricky.

I finally decided that only a built-in sponson system, factory installed
to be inexpensive, and manufactured exactly like the Coast Guard approved
Inflatable PFDs, (with gas cartridge and oral back-up inflation) was the
only way to dramatically prevent these needless deaths. The Instructors
obviously were more interested in profits and holding power over others'
lives, to ever accept any device willingly. I had let enough years pass
to see that there was no compassion for the dead or their loved ones. The
Canoe and Kayak Drowning Business is truly a unique aspect of our society,
that normally demands only the highest safety standards for all citizens.

So finally I contacted the Departments of the Attorney General in all
States as below:

Both magazines and the ACA have been misleading the public with regard
to canoe and kayak rescues since 1993, when both magazines first published
articles acknowledging the superior safety of kayak sponsons. Please see
www.sponsonguy.com regarding the 1993 reports. I have original copies.

After the sponson reports these magazines were attacked by manufacturers,
instructors, and advertisers who wished to continue teaching Eskimo Rolls
and Paddlefloat Rescues in kayaks, that do not work reliably for most of
the public, expert or novice.

The fundamental problem was that sponsons were so simple that most of
the public could rescue themselves without much instruction or practice.
There are now 12 different 20 second models, closed-cell foam, oral and
gas cartridge inflatable sponsons.

These models adapt to the differing safety needs of all paddlers, and
quickly fit to all of the different canoe and kayak designs. They offer
differing levels of stability, ease of deployment and ease of re-entry.
They can be as inexpensive as $5 for foam sponsons.

These magazines and the ACA refuse to teach use of these sponsons and
advocate instead: rolls, paddlefloats and other rescue ideas that are not
safe because they do not provide emergency stability.

The instructors and manufacturers think they will lose income. However,
it is obvious that weather reading, realistic paddling skills, and risk
management are more appropriate subjects than rescues that don't work.

As an example of misleading safety information, Canoe and Kayak Magazine
states in Kayak Touring 2001, p.53: "There are many solo rescues
available to kayakers, the Eskimo roll being the most famous and effective.
It's also the hardest...An outrigger rescue with a paddlefloat..."

This is an obvious untruth. The "hardest" rescue is not the most "effective"
since it is obviously is the least reliable. Few "expert" kayakers claim
to have a roll reliable enough to trust their own lives. The ACA teaches
this as a rescue, intended to save human life.

The paddlefloat rescue is extremely misleading and deadly, even to physically
fit and very experienced kayakers. For example, in a recent issue of Seakayaker:

"However Reimer was an experienced sea kayaker...His Eskimo roll was
not strong, so there was only his paddlefloat."
"Hanging on to his upside-down boat, he lifted his paddle over his
head. In spite of the rough seas, he waved it back and forth..." (Sea
Kayaker, June, '01, p.54)

If he were able to wave his paddle so easily, he could have easily clipped
on sponsons in 20 seconds.

This man was killed by paddlefloat instruction, like hundreds of others,
around the world since 1993. The ACA teaches this as a rescue, intended
to save human life.

These are simply sponsons pre-inflated and secured on the back deck
of kayaks.

So after capsize you simply clip on the nearest sponson (each Fastex
clip near a sponson end, then shove the remaining sponson under the boat
and clip it on.)

A 10 year old child can turn any ACA instructor into a FOOL in 20 seconds.

Clip, clip, the Fastex buckles and any kayak or canoe is stable enough
to paddle fully flooded, to safety. The paddler gets warmed immediately.
And the body core is out of cold water in 20 seconds. Plus Re-capsize protection.

1. The Instructor is still in the water.

2. The instructor denies the public re-capsize protection, even in a
fully flooded canoe or kayak that can be paddled in 20 seconds.

3. The instructor kills people this way.

I have communicated steadily with both magazines and the ACA since 1993,
pleading with them not to continue this misleading safety approach, that
has such deadly results.

Recently a YMCA camp took a grade 6 class from Elliott Lake, Ontario
in kayaks. Most were capsized in a sudden wind. Only by chance was a large
powerboat alerted nearby. It radioed ahead so 3 ambulances were waiting
at the nearest road to treat the children for hypothermia, shock etc.

Without sponsons no group of guides can safely rescue clients because
they simply recapsize with no means of emergency stability. There are many
deaths in canoes and kayaks in Canada and the US, as a result.

Twenty schoolchildren were rescued in Tampa Bay, Florida by the US Coast
Guard, and treated for hypothermia. In the UK, 4 schoolchildren died, resulting
in convictions for manslaughter.

YMCA camps and Boy Scout troops acknowledge their children are not safe
with canoe and kayak safety instruction. However, majority use of misleading
and deceptive safety instruction forces them to follow, despite reservations.

Please contact me as soon as possible since the numbers of deaths are
growing.

Sincerely,

Tim Ingram

231 Gordon Drive, Penetanguishene, Ontario, Canada L9M 1Y2

Phone/Fax (705) 549-3722, email oldguy@csolve.net

The following two pages are the official response from the American
Canoe Association. The magazines are still in hiding. You will note the
scrbbling on these pages that were faxed to the US Coast Guard. The USCG
is becoming quite vexed over these needless deaths. And they now do not
trust the ACA.

Image #2: Page 1 ACA scribble letter

Image #3 Page 2 ACA scribble letter

(See both documents in book: "Canoe and Kayak Scam Kills 1000 Americans".
Please type this title into Google or Yahoo, etc. The pages don't upload
well on this website.)

After you read this letter from the American Canoe Association
(ACA), you will notice several things, apart from my scribbling.

1. This letter specifically avoids defending paddle float rescues and
Eskimo rolling, although both were specific rescues in the letter of complaint
to the Department of the Attorney General in Florida. This is part of the
"Bait and Switch" fraud technique, that is used to sell all kinds of rescue
ideas and expensive paraphernalia, that merely leaves victims to die in
the water.

Of course it is impossible to defend either paddle float rescues or
rolling when the ACA has already admitted that very few people can successfully
perform either rescue in their own commercial magazine: "Paddler".

2. My complaint specifically is that the ACA teaches rescues for profit
that kill many people and endanger many more. The ACA letter, initialled
by their general counsel David Bookbinder, does not even defend these fraudulent
and deadly rescues, but engages in a transparent game of "bait and switch."

3. The ACA letter clearly states their position that skills are much
better than devices, despite the fact that PFD devices have been recommended
universally as superior safety to swimming skills, (that obviously can
fail even the best swimmer.) The two devices: life jacket and life raft
have been the safety standard for all soldiers near water in both world
wars. Life rafts and life jackets, (PFDs are a somewhat "cut-down" version
of a life jacket), are the world maritime safety standard. The ACA obviously
does not want any kind of "emergency stability" such as Life Raft Sponsons.
As I told the Attorney General:

"These magazines and the ACA refuse to teach use of these sponsons and
advocate instead: rolls, paddlefloats and other rescue ideas that are not
safe because they do not provide emergency stability.

The instructors and manufacturers think they will lose income. However,
it is obvious that weather reading, realistic paddling skills, and risk
management are more appropriate subjects than rescues that don't work."

4. The ACA says it is not "anti-sponson", but then goes on to say on
page 2:

a) "In addition to teaching skills as a means of re-entry, rather than
relying on equipment that can be lost, forgotten, or broken, even as equipment
there are significant disadvantages to using sponsons...they would create
more of a safety problem than other techniques."

b) "I learned that a group of skilled paddlers experimented with them
while filming Performance Video's Sea-Kayaking video, and found them difficult
to deploy, flimsy, and generally of little or no value for re-entry."

Please note the Bait ("rather than relying on equipment") and the murderous
Switch (that is mysteriously not even mentioned as the supposed self-rescue,
lifesaving alternative. The assisted rescues mentioned have killed the
most children in all of the major, reported mass deaths of children in
kayaks and canoes. Obviously this is quite misleading and deceptive.) The
ACA is responsible for instruction that murdered 1000 US citizens:

Please Note:
a) There is no means of re-entry of kayaks "rather than relying on
equipment...". The capsized victim flipping the kayak upright with little
water left inside is an impossible task in capsizing conditions, or even
in swimming pools for most people. Then the victim "scrambles" up the rear
deck (with no emergency stability) and gets into the cockpit. There is
No provision for re-flooding since the sprayskirt is not in place, nor
any way to pump out the water, as in Sea Kayaker Magazine, February,
2003, p.29 below.

The re-enter and roll-up technique expects the victim to re-enter the
cockpit in the water, kayak upside down, or positioned carefully to lie
on its' side. The victim must then know how to roll up, but the sprayskirt
is still not in place, so water continues to flood the kayak. The Eskimo
roll (if one does not manage to roll up) at least has a sprayskirt operating.
However, as the ACA publishes in their magazine "Paddler", very
few people can roll in a swimming pool, even once. So almost all people
must exit the kayak, the sprayskirt must be pulled off, and the kayak obviously
floods. And it is impossible to pump out the flooded kayak through an opening
between the sprayskirt and the cockpit rim. "...It has two fairly serious
shortcomings: You can't seal the sprayskirt, and you can't keep both hands
on the paddle while pumping." (Sea Kayaker Magazine, February 2003,
p.29)

The sprayskirt in an Eskimo roll, if it did save a few lucky and highly
skilled victims, given the Greenland Champions failure to roll consistently
and need a rescue boat, means that the kayak might not flood if the sprayskirt
does not pop off the cockpit rim. (Although repeated rolls demonstrated
in a swimming pool as a "tricks"demonstration, might eventually flood the
kayak, since sprayskirts do allow some water inside. However, almost all
capsized canoes and kayaks are never rolled, and flooded canoes and kayaks
have the stability of a floating log. This is why most people die in the
water. They can't get out of the water.)

The existence of re-entry rolls and the "dozen" other rescues underline
the deadly foolishness of Eskimo rolls. (Rolls were in fact not to be found
in the entire Canadian Arctic, nor most of Greenland or Alaska. Only isolated
pockets have been identified by anthropologists. The native Arctic peoples
did not need rolls to make death any more prominent in their lives!)

Please Note: Sprayskirts are failure-prone and tricky devices themselves.
Human life cannot trust the integrity of such a device. Sprayskirts sometimes
trap victims upside down and they drown.

"Lorne...tried desperately...He tried pushing himself out with his arms...but
it was as if bungie cords kept pulling him back into the seat. A strong
man, he pushed with his legs but could not counter the hold of the sprayskirt..."
(Sea Kayaker Magazine, April 2003, p.49)

No children should be wearing sprayskirts in kayaks when many adults
fail to find the sprayskirt grab loop, to escape the kayak after capsizing.
Sprayskirts are fussy, hot and ultimately failure-prone anyway. You simply
deploy Life Raft Sponsons in seconds after capsize, and paddle to safety
with re-capsize protection, even fully flooded.

*We would think that making canoes and kayaks as "user-friendly" as
possible would be desirable, to sell more canoe and kayaks!

Please note that the ACA letter actually denies the only means to rescue
canoes and kayaks: Sponsons. Without some type of sponsons the flooded
craft cannot be stabilized, obviously. The victim cannot get out of the
water, stabilize the kayak, pump out the water etc. And if a group of likewise
vulnerable "rescuers" were to assist the victim, they cannot stabilize
the boat and get it to shore when victims are more than one. The two counsellors
at a sports camp on Lake Rosseau, Ontario, Thanksgiving Day, 1997 could
only get one child to hospital for treatment of hypothermia. The other
was left to die. When groups of children capsize, one by one, the assisted
rescues of the guides are quickly overwhelmed, as in the case of the 4
dead students in the UK. Each boat must have a means of emergency stability
or victims will likely re-capsize and die, even wearing PFDs.

The ACA, 1000 US deaths ago, denied US citizens "state of the art" sponsons
as defined in the US Patent Office: The only way to escape dying in the
water, even wearing PFDs.

b) The producer of the Performance Sea Kayaking Video, Kent Ford, is
on the record that the paddlefloat does not work in waves for many experts.
Kent Ford, Kayaking, 1995: "Self-rescues are much harder than assisted
rescues. Getting water out of a capsized boat and getting back into the
boat by yourself are tricky...Paddle Float...This works reliably in calm
water without outside assistance, but paddlers debate its effectiveness
in rough conditions. (pp.83-85)

This particular video was produced 1993 and was widely distributed in
1994. It featured Wayne Horodowich demonstrating the paddle float rescue
in perfectly calm water. It also featured my old friends Lee Moyer and
Ken Fink saying that people should not go out paddling when the winds create
waves, in case people should capsize. (And of course this message means
that they may die if they capsize, since they are denied the only means
to escape dying in the water: Life Raft Sponsons.)

This video also shows the H2O team, the kayaking instructors from L.L.
Bean, demonstrating the Eskimo roll. These people are very ethical. I have
known Jeff Cooper, head of H2O, since 1993. During a demonstration of the
paddle float rescue in the pool at the Maritime Education facilities in
Castine, Maine, we both heard a "snap". The paddle shaft was broken by
the expert in this demonstration. To his credit, Jeff made certain that
this was pointed out as a problem with paddle float rescues. Most of the
lightweight paddles cannot bear the weight on the paddle, and break. When
I attended symposiums from 1989 to 1994, many of us saw paddle float rescues
break the paddle. This was blamed on the user, rather than the technique.
There are many references to this serious problem. More money goes to the
paddle manufacturers.

There are many rolling instructors who know that rolling is so unreliable,
even for experts, that the most reliable back-up insurance is necessary.
They also know the paddlefloat and any other "rescues" (except the sponson
life raft) are even less reliable than the Eskimo roll.

It is a credit to professional instructors like L.L. Bean's H2O instructors
that they favoured sponsons over the paddlefloat, like almost all books,
magazines, and other safety conscious individuals in 1993-94.

Now L.L. Bean does not sell sponsons, according to my recent look at
their online store.

5. The ACA letter not only contradicts the US Military Kayakers' Evaluation,
most authors, and the commonsense of most citizens; but also, 1000 US citizens
have died in kayaks and canoes since this video, the deadly position taken
by the ACA at this time, and the deadly video itself, according to their
letter above.

6. Essentially the ACA condemns the idea of 2 floats, creating a "life
raft" from any canoe or kayak in 20 seconds. Mr. Black says, "ready to
use foam sponsons on deck would severely compromise handling in any wind,
thereby potentially endangering the paddler more than if sponsons were
not present." He forgets that childrens' schoolbooks feature pictures of
Eskimo kayaks, paddled with very large harpoon floats, larger than sponsons,
in any weather that may be encountered while hunting. Why lie to children?

Expedition Kayaks are always paddled with large deck loads fore and
aft of the cockpit, in the Arctic, Antarctic and Cape Horn regions. Sponsons
can be 2 dry bags containing lightweight bulky items such as sleeping bags,
or 2 rolled up foam sleeping mats. Mr. Black is greatly mistaken regarding
deck sponsons and paddling in strong winds.

7. The ACA does not mention any canoe rescues. They do sell them. These
are the traditional canoe "rescues" that killed 12 kids all at once on
Lake Temiskaming. There are no working canoe rescues, (except for the sponson
floats demonstrated by the 2 little girls). This fact has been known for
decades.

8. The assisted rescue that is recommended in the "bait and switch"
of the ACA letter, instead of rolls and paddle floats, was the one that
killed 4 school children in the UK, 1994. The media outcry was so strong
that a guide and the owner were convicted of manslaughter.

Capt. D.C.S. Thompson, Principal Marine Surveyor, UK Coast Guard (re-named
MSA under Margaret Thatcher), contacted me after this tragedy, following
huge media coverage in the UK. Capt. Thompson was acting on the recommendation
of Mr. Derek Hutchinson (a major author referred to in this book), that
sponsons were necessary to prevent the continuing re-capsize of the students'
kayaks, after the guides got them back in. Capt. Thompson mentioned that
some UK experts complained that sponsons increased the "righting lever"
of kayaks so much that kayaks with sponsons were in fact less stable in
waves. (The US Military Kayakers did not complain of this! In fact their
evaluation stated the obvious: Sponsons make kayaks much more stable in
heavy seas or in surf landings when kayaks are more in danger of broaching
and capsizing in large, breaking waves.)

This "righting lever" misinformation of course contradicts all known
science. Only canoes and kayaks with very large righting levers have crossed
Atlantic and Pacific oceans, using some type of sponson, or equivalent
beam buoyancy. It is ridiculous to assert that narrow kayaks are more seaworthy.
This is an obvious attempt to sell Eskimo rolling, in that rolling is perceived
to be easier in narrower kayaks, and of course they are more likely to
capsize, to encourage sales of rolling instruction.

It is noteworthy that sponsons easily permit the rafting up of two or
more kayaks. However the use of extra paddlefloats and paddles with special
deck gear as "outriggers", as mentioned above in the 2nd page of the ACA
letter, prevents anyone getting near the outrigger kayak, unless someone
swims to it! This is only one problem of any outrigger concept. (Note:
Sponsons Revisited: Safety Device Pulls its Weight in Chapter 3. Guides
are easily able to raft up to a destabilized victim and quickly deploy
sponsons.)

It is desirable to be able to inflate and deflate sponsons in seconds.
Even oral inflation of a sponson takes much less than one minute. Sponsons
can stabilize the kayak of an incapacitated paddler in seconds. But in
the most serious cases, the option of securing the victim to the rear deck,
deploying sponsons to prevent capsize, and paddling hard for shore, may
be the best and quickest rescue in life-threatening conditions.

Image #4: Letter, UK Student deaths, UK Department of Transport (See
book "Canoe and Kayak Scam Killls 1000 Americans" for this document, that
does not display well here.)

The sponson information was shared with Capt. Thompson's counterparts
in the USCG (Mr. Rouncevelle) and the Canadian Coast Guard (Ms. Sandiford),
in 1994. Of course I had no idea then, that instructor lobby groups prevented
the Coast Guards from acting on the Sponson idea. That was 1000 deaths
ago in the US and almost 500 Canadian deaths (according to the Canadian
Recreational Canoeing Association, an ACA clone, in the Winter 2003 issue
of their commercial magazine "Kanawa".) About 1500 dead citizens in North
America (non white water canoe and kayak deaths since sponsons came out.)

It is beyond me how anyone in society has the nerve to murder (what
else is it?) so many children, and innocent adults.

The US Coast Guard has met repeatedly with the ACA over the years, asking
them how deaths could be reduced. The ACA offices are just across the river
from the US Coast Guard offices in Washington D.C. The USCG was lied to
by the ACA and 1000 American people died.

The US Coast Guard was deliberately lied to, for over ten years now.
Legal authorities depend on organizations to tell them the truth.

Like any government organization, The US Coast Guard depends on honest
"expert" opinion.

I had no idea, years ago, that the US Coast Guard based policy decisions
on the information given to them by the American Canoe Association (ACA).
I had thought that the ACA only dealt with white water safety on rivers,
using entirely different craft, and whitewater deaths result from entirely
different factors. Not hypothermia, due to not being able to get out of
the water. A Sponson Life Raft will not help anyone who is already close
to shore, and able to climb out if they are not pinned underwater.

The reader can see from this process that L.L. Bean and other large
retailers have initially sold sponsons, but then discontinued sales. In
the recent US Coast Guard Sponson Study, commissioned by the USCG, information
regarding actual organized harrassment and boycotts of stores selling sponsons
has been provided. REI for example, the largest outdoor retailer in the
world, sold sponsons on the internet in 1997. Then they strangely discontinued
this.

Sponsons make great sense to people with much experience on large sailboats
or other similar craft. These people know that devices such as life rafts
and PFDs save lives. However the ACA and canoe and kayak instructors do
not accept this reality. They are willing to expose the public to death.
And the many instructors who do not subscribe to this terrible crime are
forced to "toe the line."

Most canoe and kayak instructors are not murderers. They may be "followers",
but most do not have any trouble following the concept of a built-in canoe
and kayak sponson life raft, unless they truly enjoy killing. I have met
some people in the canoe and kayak industry, and the ACA, who apparently
do enjoy killing; apparently for the pleasure of dominating other people,
and controlling "life over death". This quality is identical to other murderers,
who derive a sense of self-importance and power; all part of the documented
psycho-sexual gratification for murderers.

Personally, as a former YMCA counsellor and Scoutmaster, I find this
all
very repellent.

I shall do whatever I can to effect legal consequences for the many
canoe and kayak murders (what else are they?).

I might point out that the US has many organizations that are aware
of this scandal, apart from the US Coast Guard. For example, the Consumer
Protection Safety Commission (CPSC), is located in Washington, D.C., like
the US Coast Guard and the American Canoe Association (ACA) lobby group.
The CPSC has actually phoned me at home to encourage me to keep up my protests.

The CPSC is responsible for the safety of consumer products, but canoes
and kayaks are "boats", even though they are sold by Sears and Costco just
like car seats for infants. So the US Coast Guard is the legislated organization
to become involved, although canoes and kayaks are sold as a consumer item.
I don't blame the USCG for 1000 deaths. It is easy for an unethical organization
like the ACA, posing as "interested in safety", to trick anyone, even the
USCG. The USCG is familiar with "big" boats. The CPSC would have fined
the canoe and kayak industry years ago, at a minimum, just as they fine
retailers millions of dollars for selling defective car seats for infants.
The CPSC has direct contacts to the US Congress.

Fortunately, the US Congress and Coast Guard are well aware now of the
terrible rate of death for canoes and kayaks. Citizens are much safer in
the average car (even a Ford/Firestone SUV), than in any canoe or kayak,
thanks to the perfidious behaviour of the ACA and other instructors who
"tag along"; misleading people for profit and enhancing their own egos,
by proving their "superiority" over other citizens in kayaks and canoes.

As a footnote to this behavior, the ACA and others have avoided an opportunity
to both attract new customers through real canoe and kayak safety, but
also they have missed the opportunity to transform canoes and kayaks into
effective Rescue Craft, capable of rescuing anyone dying in the water.
This has been a major business opportunity to promote this tiny industry:
Lost because they insist on making canoes and kayaks as deadly as possible!

This could not have happened at my YMCA camp forty years ago. The YMCA
held that all human lives were equally valuable!

This story is perhaps inevitable in a time when corporations like Enron
for example, can steal from society and record a profit, until caught.

Marketing of Canoe and Kayak Safety, Enron Style:

After 1994 I was forced to discontinue advertising in Canoe and Kayak
Magazine, Kayak Touring (by the same publisher), and Sea Kayaker Magazine,
among other publications, since feature articles in these magazines all
recommended the paddle float rescues, in direct contradiction of what they
had said previously. These feature articles effectively negated my small,
but expensive ads. This action effectively breached my advertising contracts
with these publications since the contracts stated that the publishers
would work with the customer (myself) in helping advertise the sponsons.

The actions by the two major magazines above, essentially copied the
model set out by the ACA letter above. The ACA, despite the letter to Florida's
Attorney General that does not acknowledge paddle floats and Eskimo rolls,
certainly does sell paddle float and rolling instruction as the major rescues
in their safety platform! The amazing thing, in view of the safety of citizens,
was that this action showed no concern whatsoever regarding dead citizens.
Just sell, sell, sell to make money. Despite the ultimate costs. Enron
Canoe and Kayak Safety: The Drowning Business.

Please read the letter by Dave Harrison (who was going to use his paddle
float as a "camera bag"), in view of the superiority of sponsons, in previous
issues of Canoe and Kayak Magazine:

image #5: harrison angry letter (refer to book above for this document,
that does not upload well.)

This is what Mr. Harrison published about sponsons, to effectively cheat
the public from using them, while making my expensive advertisements worthless:

"A sponson is sort of a blimp-shaped balloon, six to eight inches in
diameter and up to four feet long. You strap one to each side of your cockpit,
inflate them, and scramble back aboard. Your choices are to attempt to
strap the deflated sponsons in place while you're in the water (an exercise
in linguistics because you're bound to learn a whole passel of new and
uncomplimentary words), or to paddle with the drag..." (Kayak Touring,
1994, p.54)

And then Compare what this same person wrote only a few months before:

The largest North American padding magazine: Canoe (now called Canoe
and Kayak Magazine), July, 1993, p.66, stated: "Although the paddle float
system has been widely promoted as the standard self-rescue device, sea
kayakers should give serious consideration to the Sea Wing sponson system.
The chief advantages are capsize prevention on both sides of the kayak
and freeing up your paddle for other important work (like propulsion...Inflated
the sponsons are 40 inches long, 6 inches wide, but hug the kayak closely
so you can still paddle with minimum interference...The sponsons inflate
quickly with a dozen puffs, making them ideal for any age paddler. I thought
these were a better idea, and have turned my old paddle float bag into
a camera case."

Not only this, but the paddlefloat (not defended in the ACA letter above),
is sold to the public:

"You have just inadvertantly discovered the outer limits of your kayaks
stability, and although you're splashing around as a swimmer, you'd rather
get back into your boat. If you've thought ahead, and done a bit of swimming
pool or warm water practice, it won't take long.

Let's clear up one thing. The quickest way of going from upside down
to right side up in a kayak is an Eskimo roll. That said, rolling a cruising
kayak is hard. Only a tiny percentage of boats themselves are set up so
a roll is even possible. In most cases, the paddler will simply fall out
of the overturned craft...

One of the easiest to learn self-rescue techniques is the paddlefloat."
(Kayak Touring, 1994, p.55)

Compare:

"The Paddlefloat is not really a rough water rescue. During trials I
found the SEA WING (sponsons) ... very comforting. I paddled out to sea
in rough, windy conditions...I was able to sit on my rear deck-not something
I would normally do at sea...The rescue potential is obvious." (Derek Hutchinson,
The
Complete Book of Sea Kayaking, 1994, pp.104-111)

"Once you have the Sea Wings fitted and adjusted, its advantages over
a paddle float become clear. To use a paddle float, a certain amount of
instruction and practice is needed. But with Sea Wings, I simply told my
volunteer how to snap the four buckles, inflate the sponsons, and climb
back aboard...Sea Wings are simply the best and easiest-to-use self-rescue
device on the market today." (Sea Kayaker Magazine, Winter 1993,
p.34, "Sea Wings to the Rescue")

"basic, no nonsense...dramatically increase...safety and...capabilities...
It should be noted that within the North American civilian sea kayak industry
there is some controversy...Sea Wings' direct competition with...the paddle
float...the merits of Sea Wings...far outweigh those of the paddlefloat."
Invitational Military Kayak Paddle 1994 Evaluation

Sea Kayaker Magazine, Oct. '99, pp. 48-55 describes the paddlefloat:
"Getting up onto the deck can be difficult enough let alone once it
is deployed. A strong gust...almost throws me back into the cold water.
[I] struggle to secure the outrigger...difficult to get the other blade
under the first web strap...the kayak has spun around. Each wave now lifts
the [float]. I am in constant danger of flipping over especially. It takes
a long time to [pump out]... [There was a] rather precarious moment of
removing the paddle from under deck rigging... There are limits...your
kayak can come crashing down on you...it is easy to submerge the float
or even break the paddle. The most difficult moment associated with the
use ... comes once your kayak is pumped out and you are ready to go. In
order to retrieve the paddle-float paddle, you must reach outward and backwards
to detach the arrangement...try to time...between wave crests."

Sea Kayaker Magazine, (April '98, p.19) describes sponsons: "...provide
additional stability to help prevent a capsize or to assist with a reentry
after a capsize. They have the advantage that it is easy to paddle the
kayak with them in place."

Sea Kayaker Magazine, (April '99, pp.26-31) describing a deadly
paddlefloat adventure: "His shivering had grown so intense that Bob figured
that if he went over again, it would be the end of him...Given the difficulty
of reattaching the skirt...not even attempt to retrieve the pump..." The
4 paddlefloat attempts nearly killed this man: "The rescue volunteers...Bob
trembled so violently that they could not measure his pulse..."

Repeated Capsizes Until Hypothermia: Sea Kayaker Magazine, (Oct.
2000, p.48) describes another man nearly killed by a paddlefloat. Able
to get back in many times, but always recapsizing until he luckily is seen,
and rescued by a larger vessel.

Nearly Dead, revived in hospital. Atlantic Coastal Kayaker, (Aug.
2000, p.21): A young man, fit enough to re-enter several times using a
paddle float, repeatedly re-capsizes. An experienced surfer, he paddles
to shore lying on the rear deck, but almost dies of hypothermia. With sponsons
he would have not re-capsized, and his body core would have been out of
cold water, warmed by paddling to shore, and insulated by the snug fitting,
foam PFD.

Sea Kayaker Magazine (Feb.'97, pp.38-41) says that the paddlefloat
rescue can be "impossible" for people: no paddle to brace with, while retrieving
the float and paddle; actually more vulnerable than before the first capsize,
when they had a paddle to brace with.

Dozens of other articles mention the float rising in waves to flip the
paddler back in while pumping out, or fitting the sprayskirt. Wind catches
the "balloon" to flip them as well. Wooden and synthetic paddles alike,
are broken by the paddler's weight while using a paddlefloat. If a pump
malfunctions or is lost, no self rescue is possible, unlike sponson rescues.
Even if the pump and sprayskirt are available, no self-rescue is possible:
"...It has two fairly serious shortcomings: You can't seal the sprayskirt,
and you can't keep both hands on the paddle while pumping." (Sea Kayaker
Magazine, February 2003, p.29)

"I have seen enough people floundering with paddle-floats in even one-foot
seas that..." (G. Ruta, Atlantic Coastal Kayaker, Oct.'98, p.4)

"...using the paddlefloat...it's much harder than it sounds..." (D.
Stuhaug, Kayaking Made Easy, 1995, p.114)

If rolls were reliable for most people, the paddlefloat would not have
needed to be invented. The paddlefloat is so unreliable that rolls are
now said the be the "best" rescue, although the "most difficult". Round
and round the "Bait and Switch" fraud leaves victims in the water to die,
even wearing a PFD!

Sponsons of some type have always been recognized as superior safety
by honest instructors and authors.

Rolls and paddlefloats lack any understanding of kayak and canoe stability.
Rolls and paddlefloats contibute nothing to Stability Safety of course:
They only set you up to recapsize in the same conditions. Paddlefloats
are so unreliable that they have 2 schools of thought: So many re-capsize
while attempting to precariously retrieve the paddle secured under bungies
etc. behind the paddler, that one group advocates "The Big Thumb".

The Big Thumb means holding a kayak paddle shaft to the coaming of a
kayak in the real waves and winds of the real world. The paddle has the
usual paddle float on the end to ensure rise and fall, twisting and turning
in real world capsizing conditions, all held by one hand to the cockpit
coaming. This means only your thumb around the coaming and your hand around
the shaft. This is only works in swimming pools!

Ethical Standards

I told the editors of Sea Kayaker and Canoe and Kayak Magazine that
they were going to kill (murder) many hundreds of innocent citizens in
1994, by means of their unethical behavior. The death toll in Canada and
the US, as I write this in 2003 is about one thousand, five hundred innocent
victims (1,500) in the US and Canada.

I encouraged these two magazines in 1994 to be honest, or kill many
innocent people. I did not know that the ACA and their magazine "Paddler"
were representing the instructors' lobby throughout the United States,
in order to sell instruction that killed people. Any magazine that attempted
to interfere with this deadly instructor fraud would face loss of advertising
dollars as well as possible boycotts and other issues that are now documented
in the current US Coast Guard Sponson Study.

Consistent Safety Standards

The reader is probably getting some sense by now that canoe and
kayak safety, as written in most books and magazines, is always contradicted
somewhere else. This is true. For example, Kayak Touring, 1994,
above and below, contradicts the ACA letter to Florida's Attorney General
regarding the ACA's recommended assisted rescue and contrasts the ACA's
noticeable lack of defence or comment on the paddle float or Eskimo roll,
although those specific rescues were the major part of my complaint to
the Attorney General in the first place.

Contradiction of the ACA recommendations 1994, by Kayak Touring
(Canoe and Kayak Magazine):

"If you read old-time books that smell of must and mildew, you'll see
all kinds of neat ideas. Boat over boat rescues, stabilizing a swamped
craft by coming alongside and grasping a gunwale, crawling up over the
stern. The only problem is that these were developed in placid swimming
pools. If the conditions are such that you capsize, virtually all forms
of assisted rescues become impossible. Your swamped kayak is as slippery
as an ice cube on a warm day."

You have read above that 4 school children were killed in the UK in
1994. And you saw the letter from the UK Coast Guard above. The guides
were able to get them back in, but without sponsons, they just recapsized.
Two convictions of manslaughter resulted from this deadly safety "game",
using the ACA recommended "assisted rescue".

Contradiction is an intrinsic part of this "Enron Canoe and Kayak Safety"
because the "bait and switch" fraud technique is used. The ACA and the
magazines say: "This is Safety", but switch to another "safety" when the
first is scrutinized. This goes on in world politics. It happened at Enron.
And it now happens at every YMCA and Scout camp with kayaks and canoes.
This is what happens when liers attempt to profit from lies. They eventually
get caught out. But in this case over a thousand victims have been murdered.
And more will die soon. Needlessly.

Kids at YMCA and Scout camps are now more endangered in canoes and kayaks
than they were at my Y camp over forty years ago!

So don't forget the power of the simple "bait and switch" technique.
Sometimes very intelligent and decent people are tricked. See:
http://www.sponsonguy.com

Fundamentals of Human Lifesaving in Canoes and Kayaks

Almost all of those one thousand, five hundred (1,500) dead victims,
killed in kayaks or canoes in the US and Canada, since 1993-94, died in
the water only because they could not get out of the water. The "bait and
switch" safety for canoes and kayaks is very deadly. US Coast Guard
Release No:071-01 "Canoes and kayaks have by far the highest fatality
rates per million hours of exposure (.42) as any other boat type."

And the "bait and switch" technique has been used almost always to blame
those victims for their own deaths. Obviously the ACA, instructors and
magazines try to say that the dead victims should have rescued themselves.
Although plainly there are no rescues that work (apart from a simple built-in
sponson life raft), as the above mentioned contradictions between the ACA
and the magazines above indicate.

Just think, for one moment, of all of the human lives throughout history
that have been saved by means of a very primitive substitute for a life
raft. A piece of flotsam from a sunken ship has allowed sailors to get
out of the deadly water. This flotsam has often been a much more effective
"life raft" than any slippery canoe or kayak: Difficult to grab, and simply
rolling over and over without emergency stabilization on both sides. Even
70 degree F. water in Florida has claimed many canoe and kayak victims
recently. Marty Dismukes of Pensacola and Dr. Warren Gould, who had gotten
together to relive a childhood adventure, were not able to reboard their
kayak and were flound floating in PFDs in Choctawhatchee Bay, NW Fla.,
December 2000.

Capsized canoes and kayaks are not able to get people out of the water,
where they die in PFDs; unless the canoe or kayak is stabilized into a
life raft platform, capable of getting bodies out of the water. Pretty
simple.

Not only are there no workable rescues, victims are deliberately killed
with misleading information about their safety!
In the bait and switch, the victims are supposed to rescue themselves
because there are said to be workable rescues (bait), but then there are
contradictions attached to this (switch). Leaving dead victims in the water
and grieving loved ones thinking perhaps that somehow their loss was inevitable.
Memory of the victim is trampled upon by ACA Canoe and Kayak Safety Fraud.
The victims deserved their own fate. Some self-serving instructors actually
state that canoes and kayaks should not be "too safe" or people won't realize
how deadly they are: "A certain number of deaths are necessary to save
lives." Bait and switch. It can be used effectively, even to ridiculous
extremes.

All of this has resulted in the fact that canoes and kayaks are much
more deadly than most vehicles on the road per use hours. Kids are at least
15 times safer in Firestone-equipped older Ford Explorers (with the tires
under-inflated). The deaths per million use hours of these most popular
SUVs are much lower than the deaths in canoes and kayaks.

Canoes and kayaks are not paddled as many hours a year as vehicles are
driven. Most vehicles are used daily, even for hours at a time.

Most canoe and kayak deaths do not occur on white water rivers. According
to the US Coast Guard Boating Accident Report Database, eighty percent
(80%) of all deaths occur on flat water. Lakes and seas as opposed to rivers
and streams, where the capsized victims are close enough to shore to be
able to get out of the water. Most white water deaths are caused by being
held underwater so victims cannot breathe. They die in minutes.

However most canoe and kayak deaths occur slowly, when the victim succumbs
to hypothermia and can no longer hold the head out of the water to breathe.
This occurs when people cannot get out of the water, where body heat is
sucked out at a rate about 25 times the rate in air. Even if the victim
is
wearing a PFD, they will still die if they are in the water.

Forty (40) dead US victims were wearing PFDs (out of 120 victims in
year 2000). Twenty-seven (27) out of 99 dead US victims were wearing PFDs
in 1999. (US Coast Guard Boating Accident Report Database.) Some years
recently have a 33-35 % mortality for PFD wearers now, because
PFDs cannot get people out of the water, where they die.

Significantly, it is often stated that the best way to reduce canoe
and kayak deaths is simply to wear PFDs. But that
requires themagic of a powerboat or rescue helicopter arriving
just in time. Look at the dead children
wearing PFDs in this book! It is very easy for anyone to rescue
themselves in a canoe or kayak without experience or expensive instruction.

Allow them to get out of the water and they
can't die. Don't permit Degrading Propaganda to torture Canadian and American
citizens to death, for profit. Don't allow children to die agonizing deaths
in pain and terror at the hands of the canoe and kayak industry,
just because Homeland Security and Transport Canada are insensitive to
the value of these lives, even of at least one dozen children each year!

Any 10 Year Old Girls, Without Previous Experience
or Instruction Can Easily Rescue Themselves and Many Others From Deadly
Waters, Far Superior To The Most Expert Instructor.

Grieving families are degraded (somehow their
grief was the fault of their loved one); and deprived of their legal rights
and community sympathy. These facts are obvious. But also obvious is the
power of Degrading Propaganda to blame any identifiable group for their
own deaths, used throughout history to achieve the ruthless ends of special
interest groups.

Some people who appear here to be villains
may also be victims of the power of Degrading Propaganda too. They
also may be stupid. They also may not care about human lives. And they
may be sadistic. Why give them kids to torture in the US or Canada?

The purpose of this online book is to change this as quickly as possible.
The psychological power of degrading propaganda must not be underestimated.
It permits many terrible human tragedies, including torture and war; quite
apart from the agonizing deaths here.

I have not heard from you yet. The season for canoe and kayak deaths
is fast approaching. Please give me some idea of what your office is doing.
I know that the OPP can make a great contribution here. The US Coast Guard
is moving as fast as it can. The US Military Kayakers did what they could
for the safety of civilians, years ago; and a book will soon recognize
them. It is very important that society be seen to work in the best interests
of society. Especially these days.

Please contact me as soon as possible. I just need some information
from you now, please.

I had expected you to reply to my Fax of February 20, 2003 below, immediately.
The issue is rather simple: Canadian citizens die if they are denied a
means to escape the water after capsizing in a canoe or kayak. The OPP
apparently is not helping these victims, and is not acting to save lives.
I understand from your letter, January 7, 2003 that you "investigate...the
polices...of the Ontario Provincial Police."

Please ensure that the OPP begins saving lives immediately. There is
no excuse for failing to act now. Luring people into the water in a kayak
or canoe without a means to get out of the water, is an extremely effective
means to murder them. Already 40% of the dead victims are wearing a PFD.
But PFDs only keep bodies afloat: Helpful, but they cannot get victims
out of the water, the necessary condition to save human life.

I have explained below that the public is lied to, by the CRCA, who
say that wearing a PFD will save their life, among other lies to profit
from these needless deaths. The 12 schoolchildren on Lake Temiskaming 1978
all died wearing a PFD, like hundreds of others.

The OPP is failing to protect the public. Please phone me immediately
upon receiving this FAX. The OPP has many measures to dramatically reduce
the number of deaths soon to occur in 2003. The CRCA scam is much more
ruthless than Enron in that large numbers of human lives are sacrificed
for profit.

The big surprise would be that the OPP does indeed endorse these CRCA
business operations, that kill far more Canadians than organized crime!
The OPP rarely has a chance to save so many lives by simply upholding the
law. Yours truly,

February 20, 2003

Dear Sir:

OPP staff have all kindly helped me to find my way around the
complexities of the OPP organization, over the past 4 months. Recently
I was notified that the Regional Crime Office of the OPP does not intend
to investigate criminal charges at this time against the Canadian Recreational
Canoeing Association. If this stated intention is accurate, then citizens
in kayaks and canoes will not have police protection against CRCA instruction
that makes canoes and kayaks as deadly as possible. This creates large
costs for search and rescue, OPP programs and large numbers of easily preventable
deaths.

page 1 of 2

Recently the President of the CRCA stated that 600 Canadian deaths have
occurred in the past 12 years. ("Kanawa", recent Winter issue.) He lied
that PFDs would have saved most of these lives. (About 40% of dead Canadians
are already wearing PFDs, according to the Lifesaving Society, and 30-40%
of the dead US victims are wearing PFDs, US Coast Guard.) Almost all people
die in the water because they cannot get out, wearing a PFD or not. This
was obvious in both world wars when both life jackets and life rafts were
issued by all sides to soldiers near water.

Canoes and Kayaks are the deadliest watercraft by far. CRCA instruction
lures victims to waters they cannot escape, since they have no emergency
stability; despite the fact that they are so vulnerable to capsize and
flooding, resulting in zero stability. (Gas powered Sponson Life Rafts
are available: $65 Cdn in economies of scale: a sleek, small container
mounted on each side, marked "emergency rescue", factory installed
in 1 minute, 1 bolt each.)

Victims die wearing PFDs, since PFDs cannot magically rescue anyone.
They merely keep bodies afloat long enough for someone to notice, and that
is usually too long. Drowning in PFDs occurs when victims cannot keep the
face out of the water and waves to breathe, usually after suffering some
degree of hypothermia.

The CRCA "rescues'' that are advertised to be the "best", are also said
to be the "most difficult". For example, Eskimo rolling that the World
Champions in Greenland fail regularly, are very profitable to CRCA instructors;
despite the fact that no-one can actually trust their life to rolling (that
only leaves the capsized victim in the same capsizing conditions again.).
There is great contradiction among certified instructors as to what is
the best way to rescue victims. They contradict one another, but all insist
on complex and profitable instruction, plus costly "refresher" courses,
daily practice etc.

Canoe and Kayak safety must always work simply and reliably, like seatbelts
in cars, to get people out of the water so they cannot die. PFDs keep bodies
afloat but cannot get people out of the water. Nearly 600 Canadians have
been killed since Canoe and Kayak Life Raft Sponsons were available, but
were denied to the public by the CRCA in order to sell dangerous and fraudulent
instruction that is widely documented as unworkable.

Therefore it is important that the OPP act immmediately to save lives.
Failure to act by the OPP is seen by the CRCA as endorsement of their
high rate of death and murderous instruction.

Therefore I respectfully request a review of the apparent decision to
allow the CRCA to murder citizens in a deliberate and organized manner.
Of course this instruction endangers everyone, even OPP staff and their
families. No judge and jury can rescue themselves in a swimming pool. However,
they can clip on "Life Raft Sponsons" in seconds to rescue themselves immediately,
without previous practice or instruction.

The CRCA refused to publish an article in "Kanawa", year 2000
(although the editor of "Kanawa" wanted to publish this safety article),
showing a 10 year old and 7 year old saving themselves in seconds (no previous
experience), the canoe intentionally flooded entirely over the gunwales,
with the small children paddling to shore at 2 knots standing up.
Obviously this canoe and kayak safety, that the CRCA has intentionally
denied the public (now about 50 Canadian deaths ago) points out how deadly
their instruction is, in comparison. The CRCA tries to make money despite
murdering innocent citizens, including defenseless children.

The OPP does not permit other organized crime groups to profit by the
murders of citizens.

Therefore I request that you contact me immediately regarding charges
against the CRCA, to prevent the reckless and wanton murder of Canadians
by intent, deception, misleading claims and fraud. The criminal code covers
these exigencies.

I want to help the OPP reduce deaths dramatically, and make canoes and
kayaks much safer and enjoyable for everyone. The OPP cannot appear to
endorse these murders by refusing to charge the CRCA.

It is imperative that this process is expedited immediately in order
to save lives.

You can find this proof: Persons dedicated
to making canoes and kayaks as deadly as possible, to stroke ego andmake money for "the industry", by simply typing
without quotation marks "tim ingram sponsons" into Google.Some of these persons are very deadly to innocent
citizens, without any compassion or recognition that devices like seatbelts,
helmets, PFDs or sponsons save lives because they are not difficult or
expensive like fraudulent lessons for profit, that are extremely failure-prone
and cannot get people out of the water, where they die.

Safety must simply work, like seatbelts, PFDs,
car airbags or sponsons. Sponsons can even be made of such tough material
that they are virtually bulletproof.

This is easy to understand for any normal population
in any country. Canoes and kayaks, designed to be safe with built-in and
failsafe $25 CO2 sponsons, for self-rescue Life Raft capability, even by
10 year old girls without any experience or instruction, is not something
that the murderous scam artists want:

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Messages 1 - 12 of 12

I've never seen anyone so annoying on this newsgroup than sponson guy.
Even if
you agree with any of what he says, the way he says it is so in your
face and
angry...he's like a rabid dog. If you know any retailers that
sell his
sponsons, tell them you won't shop there until they drop angry-boy's
product.
I guess he must paddle solo alot.

If you want sponsons, get em (just not his), but remember that boaters
should
ALWAYS rely first on skills and judgement when boating, no matter whether
it's
on class V, in a quite estuary, or the Bay of Fundy. Safety equipment
can fail
or break or get lost. It should not be anyone's first line of
defense.

Being unprepared and ignorant is what gets people killed. Sponsons
are just a
shortcut...a lazy way to safety, and one that I would not allow my
kids to rely
on when they are old enough to boat.

Can't swim without water-wings? Sorry then, you have to play in
the kiddie
pool until you learn, cause if you get into the deep end and one of
your water
wings pops...you're outta luck.

Canoe and Kayak Safety is REDUCED RISK through proper EQUIPMENT. There
are
Two 2 pieces of equipment that are essential to reduced risk:

1) PFD or lifejacket, to prevent death by drowning.

2) Canoe and Kayak Sponsons to prevent death by hypothermia.
Kayaks with built-in sponsons, the "sit-on-tops", are the most popular
type
of canoe or kayak. They are found at the largest tourist resorts throughout
the world, while canoes and kayaks without sponsons are conspicuously
absent
due to much higher risk.

Without sponsons the public cannot easily get out of the water to escape
hypothermia. After
capsize these craft are full of water and the paddlers cannot rescue
themselves, in the same capsizing situation, because these paddlers
cannot
empty these craft reliably, nor can they prevent reflooding by waves.
And of
course they risk re-capsizing again, without sponsons, in the same
conditions that have not magically disappeared.

Sponsons can stabilize these flooded craft, IN 20 SECONDS, to paddle
these
flooded craft to shore immediately. This greatly reduces the risk of
hypothermia.

B. Why are these canoes and kayaks not equipped with sponsons at the
factory?

Instructor lobby groups are threatened by sponsons because they are
so
effective. There is a great deal of instructor money and ego at stake.

Sponsons cost any manufacturer 1-1.5% of the retail cost of any new
canoe or
kayak.
They could easily provide sponsons at no cost to the consumer, if the
instructors didn't get mad.

Canoe and Kayak Magazine, Seakayaker Magazine, and almost all major
authors
recognized sponsons as superior safety in 1993.
(See website below regarding original clippings about the ability to
paddle
flooded kayaks to safety.) Some instructors were outraged, and many
irrational "experts" are outraged to this day.

It is a simple and superior safety concept, used by most expedition
paddlers. Not recommended, but one voyageur travelled with sponsons
half-way
between Norway and Iceland before giving up. Cape Horn expeditions
routinely
use sponsons as safety back-up, instead of a paddlefloat, that is
unrealiable in waves

Unfortunate members of the public, including schoolchildren, have died
in
the water of hypothermia, although they were wearing PFDs. Always wear
a
PFD. And be able to get out of the water immediately. Your canoe or
kayak
with 20 second sponsons is your best chance, over swimming to shore
(then
having no dry clothes and equipment to prevent hypothermia.)
Many experts have died needlessly, struggling to get packs and canoes
to
shore.

Since 1993, over 1000 people have died in the U.S. in canoes and kayaks.
(U.S. Coast Guard).

The Instructor organizations are extremely defensive, misleading the
public
regarding their safety, despite the simple, inexpensive and commonsense
nature of sponsons.

Instructors normally do not use sit-on-top kayaks because the built-in
sponsons make these craft unlikely to need what the instructors teach.

They are unlikely to capsize, both in calm water or big surf. And if
they
capsize, the sponsons make them stable enough to climb out of cold
water.

C. What kind of proof is there for 20 SECOND SPONSONS?

We can take any group of schoolkids in the world, with normal physical
health, and canoes filled with secure packs full of camping gear,
have them capsize in any safe pool, clip on sponsons the first time,
no
practice, in 20 SECONDS, re-enter and paddle to safety, immediately,
without
recapsizing.

We can take the same group, exactly the same conditions, and try canoe
over
canoe. They won't even get the packs back in without capsize. Experts
have
died trying this, recapsizing again trying to bring in packs. This
leaves
people in the water a long time. They suffer hypothermia. In only a
few
minutes fingers are impaired. Hundreds of people have died this way.

And of course they CAN NEVER PADDLE TO SAFETY IN REAL WAVES, THAT JUST
REFILL THE CANOES. They just recapsize, and die in cold water, even
with a
PFD.

MANY EXPERTS HAVE PROVEN THIS WITH THEIR LIVES! Same with kayaks.

D. How can I be sure that I am safe enough?

Find some sensible and experienced paddling friends, who do not have
a macho
ego
about safety. Stay close to shore in calm, familiar waters. Some excellent
instruction exists. This instruction should keep you in safe waters
where
you learn how to paddle, and how to avoid hazards by reading the weather
etc., etc.

Be suspicious of highly techical skills, taking a long time to
learn,
saving your life. In emergencies, those skills are the first to fail
obviously. That is why safety EQUIPMENT, like PFDs and SPONSONS, are
much
more likely to save your life.

Use your commonsense before believing any hype that you can roll to
save
your life. Most "experts" will confess that they do not have an absolutely
reliable roll, even after years of practice. Why trust your life with
something you
know isn't reliable. This isn't rational, but neither are some instructors.

Some have died using a paddlefloat that leaves a kayak less stable than
before capsize.

E. Why aren't Sponsons more popular?

As I explained above, the instructor lobby threatened Seakayaker Magazine
and Canoe and Kayak Magazine when they reported the superiority of
sponsons.
The lobby dislikes sit-on-top kayaks too, because their superior stability
and safety,
means people don't ask for expensive rolling lessons, and dozens of
other
highly circumstantial and unreliable safety notions.

Sit-on-top kayaks with sponsons are wider than traditional kayaks and
are
used by lifeguards to save swimmers in surf and big waves. Narrower
kayaks
are much less stable and can't save anyone in surf or big waves.

To measure how crazy some "experts" are, they actually believe that
narrower
kayaks
are more stable in waves. This has been printed in Seakayaker Magazine!
Plainly Stupid.

A paddling newsgroup rec.boats.paddle actually organized a boycott of
sponsons at NANTAHALA. Shortly afterward a schoolchild was killed there.
Over 50 children have died in kayaks or canoes since that time
(1997), according to U.S. Coast Guard data.

F. When will commonsense force the canoe and kayak industry to equip
every
canoe and kayak with inexpensive sponsons?

To use the canoe rescue proof above (see the website pictures, on link
below),
the families of the first tragic victims to die in canoes can sue in
a court
of law for being cheated of 20 SECOND sponson safety. Any jury in a
swimming
pool demonstration
can clip on sponsons in 20 SECONDS and paddle immediately, fully flooded.

No-one will be able to drag a canoe over another canoe quickly, let
alone
remove
and replace heavy packs. Then reenter without more water getting in.
Of
course waves just refill the canoes in real life and they die. Of course
you
also depend on
getting a second canoe to rescue the capsized canoe in rough conditions.

With sponsons, you only need 20 seconds, then paddle, flooded, to safety.
You don't need to wait in cold water for the second canoe,
that risks capsize and death too.

The first canoe deaths brought to court will ensure that all canoes
and
kayaks
will eventually have sponsons. Sad but true. The industry is quite
negligent.

Please Advise Anyone:
Suffering from a Canoe or Kayak Death
To Contact The Family Lawyer who will contact
me at the website. Most families are so
devastated that it is best to use a local attorney
known to the family, to organize all legal matters,
to avoid further traumatization.

Canoe and Kayaking Deaths are 10 Times
Ford/Firestone. Most are easily preventable.
Above site has link for Trial Lawyer Initiatives.
This enables insurance companies to
compensate grieving families and install
comprehensive safety for Y camps, Boy Scouts
and the public, for less than $20 a life per boat in
large economies of scale, like seat belts in cars.
Essentially free safety to consumers, absorbed
by canoe and kayak distributing and retailing
profit margins. Hypothermia kills, without the
most reliable means to escape cold water.

"BillyyMc" <billy...@aol.com> wrote in message

news:20001129221028.03213.00001881@ng-fg1.aol.com...

- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -

> I've never seen anyone so annoying on this newsgroup than sponson
guy.
Even if
> you agree with any of what he says, the way he says it is so in your
face
and
> angry...he's like a rabid dog. If you know any retailers that
sell his
> sponsons, tell them you won't shop there until they drop angry-boy's
product.
> I guess he must paddle solo alot.

> If you want sponsons, get em (just not his), but remember that boaters
should
> ALWAYS rely first on skills and judgement when boating, no matter
whether
it's
> on class V, in a quite estuary, or the Bay of Fundy. Safety
equipment can
fail
> or break or get lost. It should not be anyone's first line
of defense.

> Being unprepared and ignorant is what gets people killed. Sponsons
are
just a
> shortcut...a lazy way to safety, and one that I would not allow my
kids to
rely
> on when they are old enough to boat.

> Can't swim without water-wings? Sorry then, you have to play
in the
kiddie
> pool until you learn, cause if you get into the deep end and one
of your
water
> wings pops...you're outta luck.

BillyyMc wrote:
> I've never seen anyone so annoying on this newsgroup than sponson
guy. Even if
> you agree with any of what he says, the way he says it is so in your
face and
> angry...he's like a rabid dog. If you know any retailers that
sell his
> sponsons, tell them you won't shop there until they drop angry-boy's
product.
> I guess he must paddle solo alot.

Proposing a boycott just feeds into his insane conspiracy theories.
A better
approach would be to simply inform the owner of the business of the
truth:

- Tim is openly encouraging people to sue the paddling industry.
- He is apparently attempting to organize a class action suit against
the industry.

- He is trying to force the industry to include sponsons on all kayaks
- He is promoting the idea that kayaking is not safe

All of these things have negative ramifications for anyone in the paddlesports
industry. Explain that:

- Any successful suits against manufacturers will open the floodgates
for retailers
to be sued as well. They could be considered
negligent for selling boats without sponsons, including
boats that were sold
years ago.
- Suits will increase the cost of liability insurance for manufacturers,
which will
raise the price of all paddling products.
- Mandatory sponsons would increase the cost of kayaks. This, combined
with the
above, would reduce the customer base.
- A general perception that kayaking is unsafe would scare away potential
customers.

Point the retailer to this newsgroup so he can see the evidence of Tim's
insanity
first hand. These things should be more than enough to convince any
retailer that
dealing with Tim is hazardous to the future of his business and the
paddlesports
industry as a whole.

The most important thing is that all you have done is to tell the truth.
You've
exposed Tim for the psycho that he is and you've let him convince the
retailer of
this using his own words. That's what I call "sweet irony".

> If you want sponsons, get em (just not his), but remember that boaters
should
> ALWAYS rely first on skills and judgement when boating, no matter
whether it's
> on class V, in a quite estuary, or the Bay of Fundy. Safety
equipment can fail
> or break or get lost. It should not be anyone's first line
of defense.

> Being unprepared and ignorant is what gets people killed. Sponsons
are just a
> shortcut...a lazy way to safety, and one that I would not allow my
kids to rely
> on when they are old enough to boat.

> Can't swim without water-wings? Sorry then, you have to play
in the kiddie
> pool until you learn, cause if you get into the deep end and one
of your water
> wings pops...you're outta luck.

You are not serious? Why would you put this kind of pressure on a
retailer? Sure "you know who" is a pain in the ass for some time now,
espcl. since his last dozens of postings were identical and a lot of
the
previous ones also just repeated the same prayer. But a lot of
people
here still jump on his postings instead of just ignoring them since
everything was already said. It seems some of us really like to wrestle
with pigs -to use this picture-, so we have to live with the dirty
outcome.
Back to the topic.
I like dealers who offer me a lot of options, it's my call what I buy.
Over the long haul my and other customers purchase will also regulate
the dealers catalog. Since the particular product itself isn't
dangerous why would you push you dealer to see it banned from the
market? If he takes the sponsons from the shelf, what would you like
to
go next from your paddling store? The paddles you don't like,
pink
sprayskirts, recreational kayaks sold without floatation (would make
sense to ban this), plastic kayaks, fibreglass kayaks, folding
kayaks......
If you don't like or need sponsons don't buy them, and if you think
they
might come handy one day you can built them yourself.
Most of the times boycotts doesn't work (Saddam is still in power and
Cuba on of the last communist islands), they give you just the illusion
that something has been done. "You know who" has commited commercial
suicide in this group and elsewere in the paddling community.
I don't
know for sure what his problem is, but he is obvious not a marketing
genius.

My $ 0.02

Ulli

- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -

BillyyMc wrote:

> I've never seen anyone so annoying on this newsgroup than sponson
guy. Even if
> you agree with any of what he says, the way he says it is so in your
face and
> angry...he's like a rabid dog. If you know any retailers that
sell his
> sponsons, tell them you won't shop there until they drop angry-boy's
product.

I used to own a retail business. There were times I dropped vendors
or product lines
because they had policies that were harmful to the industry I was in.
I WANTED people
to tell me about these types of problems, so my hard earned dollars
were not spent
with someone who was trying to hurt my business. I don't agree with
boycotting
dealers, but informing them about a potential problem is doing them
a service. Tim
needs to learn that biting the hand that feeds him will get him nowhere.

Missing the point?
Isn't there a difference between boycotting a retailer and telling
retailers about questionable behaviour, or policies, or products of
one
of their suppliers? In this particular case I don't see a reason to
do
#1, #2 makes sense and leaves the boycott decission to the dealer.
This
way it will also hurt the ones which deserve it.
I believe that somebody like Mr. Sponson is hardly able to hurt the
sport or the industry. His argumentation is to shallow and he has no
forum other than free and open ones like this on to get his message
out.
Every media under professional management might publish independend
tests of his product and tell people what they can expect, but wouldn't
publish his kind of propaganda, i.e. statistical data without proper
citation and reviewing his analysis of this data. If they don't
do
this, the editor doesn't deserve his/her job. The media would
loose its
reputation. Here only one person lost his reputation, apparantly already
2 or 4 years ago.

Cheers

Ulli

- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -

Brian Nystrom wrote:

> Ulli,

> I used to own a retail business. There were times I dropped vendors
or product lines
> because they had policies that were harmful to the industry I was
in. I WANTED people
> to tell me about these types of problems, so my hard earned dollars
were not spent
> with someone who was trying to hurt my business. I don't agree with
boycotting
> dealers, but informing them about a potential problem is doing them
a service. Tim
> needs to learn that biting the hand that feeds him will get him nowhere.

Yes Ulli...i would boycott if i thought it was necessary...complaining
to them
like Bryan suggested seems more appealling on teh surface, but if you
want
action quickly, take money out of someone's pocket. They will
drop spo*nson
boy tim like a hot potato.

Of course, having said that, I've never even seen a sp*nson in a store,
so i'm
not sure who i would possibly boycott.

Canoe and Kayak Safety is REDUCED RISK through proper EQUIPMENT. There
are
Two 2 pieces of equipment that are essential to reduced risk:

1) PFD or lifejacket, to prevent death by drowning.

2) Canoe and Kayak Sponsons to prevent death by hypothermia.
Kayaks with built-in sponsons, the "sit-on-tops", are the most popular
type
of canoe or kayak. They are found at the largest tourist resorts throughout
the world, while canoes and kayaks without sponsons are conspicuously
absent
due to much higher risk.

Without sponsons the public cannot easily get out of the water to escape
hypothermia. After
capsize these craft are full of water and the paddlers cannot rescue
themselves, in the same capsizing situation, because these paddlers
cannot
empty these craft reliably, nor can they prevent reflooding by waves.
And of
course they risk re-capsizing again, without sponsons, in the same
conditions that have not magically disappeared.

Sponsons can stabilize these flooded craft, IN 20 SECONDS, to paddle
these
flooded craft to shore immediately. This greatly reduces the risk of
hypothermia.

B. Why are these canoes and kayaks not equipped with sponsons at the
factory?

Instructor lobby groups are threatened by sponsons because they are
so
effective. There is a great deal of instructor money and ego at stake.

Sponsons cost any manufacturer 1-1.5% of the retail cost of any new
canoe or
kayak.
They could easily provide sponsons at no cost to the consumer, if the
instructors didn't get mad.

Canoe and Kayak Magazine, Seakayaker Magazine, and almost all major
authors
recognized sponsons as superior safety in 1993.
(See website below regarding original clippings about the ability to
paddle
flooded kayaks to safety.) Some instructors were outraged, and many
irrational "experts" are outraged to this day.

It is a simple and superior safety concept, used by most expedition
paddlers. Not recommended, but one voyageur travelled with sponsons
half-way
between Norway and Iceland before giving up. Cape Horn expeditions
routinely
use sponsons as safety back-up, instead of a paddlefloat, that is
unrealiable in waves

Unfortunate members of the public, including schoolchildren, have died
in
the water of hypothermia, although they were wearing PFDs. Always wear
a
PFD. And be able to get out of the water immediately. Your canoe or
kayak
with 20 second sponsons is your best chance, over swimming to shore
(then
having no dry clothes and equipment to prevent hypothermia.)
Many experts have died needlessly, struggling to get packs and canoes
to
shore.

Since 1993, over 1000 people have died in the U.S. in canoes and kayaks.
(U.S. Coast Guard).

The Instructor organizations are extremely defensive, misleading the
public
regarding their safety, despite the simple, inexpensive and commonsense
nature of sponsons.

Instructors normally do not use sit-on-top kayaks because the built-in
sponsons make these craft unlikely to need what the instructors teach.

They are unlikely to capsize, both in calm water or big surf. And if
they
capsize, the sponsons make them stable enough to climb out of cold
water.

C. What kind of proof is there for 20 SECOND SPONSONS?

We can take any group of schoolkids in the world, with normal physical
health, and canoes filled with secure packs full of camping gear,
have them capsize in any safe pool, clip on sponsons the first time,
no
practice, in 20 SECONDS, re-enter and paddle to safety, immediately,
without
recapsizing.

We can take the same group, exactly the same conditions, and try canoe
over
canoe. They won't even get the packs back in without capsize. Experts
have
died trying this, recapsizing again trying to bring in packs. This
leaves
people in the water a long time. They suffer hypothermia. In only a
few
minutes fingers are impaired. Hundreds of people have died this way.

And of course they CAN NEVER PADDLE TO SAFETY IN REAL WAVES, THAT JUST
REFILL THE CANOES. They just recapsize, and die in cold water, even
with a
PFD.

MANY EXPERTS HAVE PROVEN THIS WITH THEIR LIVES! Same with kayaks.

D. How can I be sure that I am safe enough?

Find some sensible and experienced paddling friends, who do not have
a macho
ego
about safety. Stay close to shore in calm, familiar waters. Some excellent
instruction exists. This instruction should keep you in safe waters
where
you learn how to paddle, and how to avoid hazards by reading the weather
etc., etc.

Be suspicious of highly techical skills, taking a long time to
learn,
saving your life. In emergencies, those skills are the first to fail
obviously. That is why safety EQUIPMENT, like PFDs and SPONSONS, are
much
more likely to save your life.

Use your commonsense before believing any hype that you can roll to
save
your life. Most "experts" will confess that they do not have an absolutely
reliable roll, even after years of practice. Why trust your life with
something you
know isn't reliable. This isn't rational, but neither are some instructors.

Some have died using a paddlefloat that leaves a kayak less stable than
before capsize.

E. Why aren't Sponsons more popular?

As I explained above, the instructor lobby threatened Seakayaker Magazine
and Canoe and Kayak Magazine when they reported the superiority of
sponsons.
The lobby dislikes sit-on-top kayaks too, because their superior stability
and safety,
means people don't ask for expensive rolling lessons, and dozens of
other
highly circumstantial and unreliable safety notions.

Sit-on-top kayaks with sponsons are wider than traditional kayaks and
are
used by lifeguards to save swimmers in surf and big waves. Narrower
kayaks
are much less stable and can't save anyone in surf or big waves.

To measure how crazy some "experts" are, they actually believe that
narrower
kayaks
are more stable in waves. This has been printed in Seakayaker Magazine!
Plainly Stupid.

A paddling newsgroup rec.boats.paddle actually organized a boycott of
sponsons at NANTAHALA. Shortly afterward a schoolchild was killed there.
Over 50 children have died in kayaks or canoes since that time
(1997), according to U.S. Coast Guard data.

F. When will commonsense force the canoe and kayak industry to equip
every
canoe and kayak with inexpensive sponsons?

To use the canoe rescue proof above (see the website pictures, on link
below),
the families of the first tragic victims to die in canoes can sue in
a court
of law for being cheated of 20 SECOND sponson safety. Any jury in a
swimming
pool demonstration
can clip on sponsons in 20 SECONDS and paddle immediately, fully flooded.

No-one will be able to drag a canoe over another canoe quickly, let
alone
remove
and replace heavy packs. Then reenter without more water getting in.
Of
course waves just refill the canoes in real life and they die. Of course
you
also depend on
getting a second canoe to rescue the capsized canoe in rough conditions.

With sponsons, you only need 20 seconds, then paddle, flooded, to safety.
You don't need to wait in cold water for the second canoe,
that risks capsize and death too.

The first canoe deaths brought to court will ensure that all canoes
and
kayaks
will eventually have sponsons. Sad but true. The industry is quite
negligent.

Please Advise Anyone:
Suffering from a Canoe or Kayak Death
To Contact The Family Lawyer who will contact
me at the website. Most families are so
devastated that it is best to use a local attorney
known to the family, to organize all legal matters,
to avoid further traumatization.

Canoe and Kayaking Deaths are 10 Times
Ford/Firestone. Most are easily preventable.
Above site has link for Trial Lawyer Initiatives.
This enables insurance companies to
compensate grieving families and install
comprehensive safety for Y camps, Boy Scouts
and the public, for less than $20 a life per boat in
large economies of scale, like seat belts in cars.
Essentially free safety to consumers, absorbed
by canoe and kayak distributing and retailing
profit margins. Hypothermia kills, without the
most reliable means to escape cold water.

"R Kirkman" <r...@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message

news:LwEV5.4439$0r2.237954@bgtnsc07-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...

- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -

> >Of course, having said that, I've never even seen a sp*nson in a
store,
so i'm
> >not sure who i would possibly boycott.

Canoe and Kayak Safety is REDUCED RISK through proper EQUIPMENT. There
are
Two 2 pieces of equipment that are essential to reduced risk:

1) PFD or lifejacket, to prevent death by drowning.

2) Canoe and Kayak Sponsons to prevent death by hypothermia.
Kayaks with built-in sponsons, the "sit-on-tops", are the most popular
type
of canoe or kayak. They are found at the largest tourist resorts throughout
the world, while canoes and kayaks without sponsons are conspicuously
absent
due to much higher risk.

Without sponsons the public cannot easily get out of the water to escape
hypothermia. After
capsize these craft are full of water and the paddlers cannot rescue
themselves, in the same capsizing situation, because these paddlers
cannot
empty these craft reliably, nor can they prevent reflooding by waves.
And of
course they risk re-capsizing again, without sponsons, in the same
conditions that have not magically disappeared.

Sponsons can stabilize these flooded craft, IN 20 SECONDS, to paddle
these
flooded craft to shore immediately. This greatly reduces the risk of
hypothermia.

B. Why are these canoes and kayaks not equipped with sponsons at the
factory?

Instructor lobby groups are threatened by sponsons because they are
so
effective. There is a great deal of instructor money and ego at stake.

Sponsons cost any manufacturer 1-1.5% of the retail cost of any new
canoe or
kayak.
They could easily provide sponsons at no cost to the consumer, if the
instructors didn't get mad.

Canoe and Kayak Magazine, Seakayaker Magazine, and almost all major
authors
recognized sponsons as superior safety in 1993.
(See website below regarding original clippings about the ability to
paddle
flooded kayaks to safety.) Some instructors were outraged, and many
irrational "experts" are outraged to this day.

It is a simple and superior safety concept, used by most expedition
paddlers. Not recommended, but one voyageur travelled with sponsons
half-way
between Norway and Iceland before giving up. Cape Horn expeditions
routinely
use sponsons as safety back-up, instead of a paddlefloat, that is
unrealiable in waves

Unfortunate members of the public, including schoolchildren, have died
in
the water of hypothermia, although they were wearing PFDs. Always wear
a
PFD. And be able to get out of the water immediately. Your canoe or
kayak
with 20 second sponsons is your best chance, over swimming to shore
(then
having no dry clothes and equipment to prevent hypothermia.)
Many experts have died needlessly, struggling to get packs and canoes
to
shore.

Since 1993, over 1000 people have died in the U.S. in canoes and kayaks.
(U.S. Coast Guard).

The Instructor organizations are extremely defensive, misleading the
public
regarding their safety, despite the simple, inexpensive and commonsense
nature of sponsons.

Instructors normally do not use sit-on-top kayaks because the built-in
sponsons make these craft unlikely to need what the instructors teach.

They are unlikely to capsize, both in calm water or big surf. And if
they
capsize, the sponsons make them stable enough to climb out of cold
water.

C. What kind of proof is there for 20 SECOND SPONSONS?

We can take any group of schoolkids in the world, with normal physical
health, and canoes filled with secure packs full of camping gear,
have them capsize in any safe pool, clip on sponsons the first time,
no
practice, in 20 SECONDS, re-enter and paddle to safety, immediately,
without
recapsizing.

We can take the same group, exactly the same conditions, and try canoe
over
canoe. They won't even get the packs back in without capsize. Experts
have
died trying this, recapsizing again trying to bring in packs. This
leaves
people in the water a long time. They suffer hypothermia. In only a
few
minutes fingers are impaired. Hundreds of people have died this way.

And of course they CAN NEVER PADDLE TO SAFETY IN REAL WAVES, THAT JUST
REFILL THE CANOES. They just recapsize, and die in cold water, even
with a
PFD.

MANY EXPERTS HAVE PROVEN THIS WITH THEIR LIVES! Same with kayaks.

D. How can I be sure that I am safe enough?

Find some sensible and experienced paddling friends, who do not have
a macho
ego
about safety. Stay close to shore in calm, familiar waters. Some excellent
instruction exists. This instruction should keep you in safe waters
where
you learn how to paddle, and how to avoid hazards by reading the weather
etc., etc.

Be suspicious of highly techical skills, taking a long time to
learn,
saving your life. In emergencies, those skills are the first to fail
obviously. That is why safety EQUIPMENT, like PFDs and SPONSONS, are
much
more likely to save your life.

Use your commonsense before believing any hype that you can roll to
save
your life. Most "experts" will confess that they do not have an absolutely
reliable roll, even after years of practice. Why trust your life with
something you
know isn't reliable. This isn't rational, but neither are some instructors.

Some have died using a paddlefloat that leaves a kayak less stable than
before capsize.

E. Why aren't Sponsons more popular?

As I explained above, the instructor lobby threatened Seakayaker Magazine
and Canoe and Kayak Magazine when they reported the superiority of
sponsons.
The lobby dislikes sit-on-top kayaks too, because their superior stability
and safety,
means people don't ask for expensive rolling lessons, and dozens of
other
highly circumstantial and unreliable safety notions.

Sit-on-top kayaks with sponsons are wider than traditional kayaks and
are
used by lifeguards to save swimmers in surf and big waves. Narrower
kayaks
are much less stable and can't save anyone in surf or big waves.

To measure how crazy some "experts" are, they actually believe that
narrower
kayaks
are more stable in waves. This has been printed in Seakayaker Magazine!
Plainly Stupid.

A paddling newsgroup rec.boats.paddle actually organized a boycott of
sponsons at NANTAHALA. Shortly afterward a schoolchild was killed there.
Over 50 children have died in kayaks or canoes since that time
(1997), according to U.S. Coast Guard data.

F. When will commonsense force the canoe and kayak industry to equip
every
canoe and kayak with inexpensive sponsons?

To use the canoe rescue proof above (see the website pictures, on link
below),
the families of the first tragic victims to die in canoes can sue in
a court
of law for being cheated of 20 SECOND sponson safety. Any jury in a
swimming
pool demonstration
can clip on sponsons in 20 SECONDS and paddle immediately, fully flooded.

No-one will be able to drag a canoe over another canoe quickly, let
alone
remove
and replace heavy packs. Then reenter without more water getting in.
Of
course waves just refill the canoes in real life and they die. Of course
you
also depend on
getting a second canoe to rescue the capsized canoe in rough conditions.

With sponsons, you only need 20 seconds, then paddle, flooded, to safety.
You don't need to wait in cold water for the second canoe,
that risks capsize and death too.

The first canoe deaths brought to court will ensure that all canoes
and
kayaks
will eventually have sponsons. Sad but true. The industry is quite
negligent.

Please Advise Anyone:
Suffering from a Canoe or Kayak Death
To Contact The Family Lawyer who will contact
me at the website. Most families are so
devastated that it is best to use a local attorney
known to the family, to organize all legal matters,
to avoid further traumatization.

Canoe and Kayaking Deaths are 10 Times
Ford/Firestone. Most are easily preventable.
Above site has link for Trial Lawyer Initiatives.
This enables insurance companies to
compensate grieving families and install
comprehensive safety for Y camps, Boy Scouts
and the public, for less than $20 a life per boat in
large economies of scale, like seat belts in cars.
Essentially free safety to consumers, absorbed
by canoe and kayak distributing and retailing
profit margins. Hypothermia kills, without the
most reliable means to escape cold water.

"BillyyMc" <billy...@aol.com> wrote in message

news:20001130213643.03177.00002024@ng-fg1.aol.com...

- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -

> Yes Ulli...i would boycott if i thought it was necessary...complaining
to
them
> like Bryan suggested seems more appealling on teh surface, but if
you want
> action quickly, take money out of someone's pocket. They will
drop
spo*nson
> boy tim like a hot potato.

> Of course, having said that, I've never even seen a sp*nson in a store,
so
i'm
> not sure who i would possibly boycott.

Canoe and Kayak Safety is REDUCED RISK through proper EQUIPMENT. There
are
Two 2 pieces of equipment that are essential to reduced risk:

1) PFD or lifejacket, to prevent death by drowning.

2) Canoe and Kayak Sponsons to prevent death by hypothermia.
Kayaks with built-in sponsons, the "sit-on-tops", are the most popular
type
of canoe or kayak. They are found at the largest tourist resorts throughout
the world, while canoes and kayaks without sponsons are conspicuously
absent
due to much higher risk.

Without sponsons the public cannot easily get out of the water to escape
hypothermia. After
capsize these craft are full of water and the paddlers cannot rescue
themselves, in the same capsizing situation, because these paddlers
cannot
empty these craft reliably, nor can they prevent reflooding by waves.
And of
course they risk re-capsizing again, without sponsons, in the same
conditions that have not magically disappeared.

Sponsons can stabilize these flooded craft, IN 20 SECONDS, to paddle
these
flooded craft to shore immediately. This greatly reduces the risk of
hypothermia.

B. Why are these canoes and kayaks not equipped with sponsons at the
factory?

Instructor lobby groups are threatened by sponsons because they are
so
effective. There is a great deal of instructor money and ego at stake.

Sponsons cost any manufacturer 1-1.5% of the retail cost of any new
canoe or
kayak.
They could easily provide sponsons at no cost to the consumer, if the
instructors didn't get mad.

Canoe and Kayak Magazine, Seakayaker Magazine, and almost all major
authors
recognized sponsons as superior safety in 1993.
(See website below regarding original clippings about the ability to
paddle
flooded kayaks to safety.) Some instructors were outraged, and many
irrational "experts" are outraged to this day.

It is a simple and superior safety concept, used by most expedition
paddlers. Not recommended, but one voyageur travelled with sponsons
half-way
between Norway and Iceland before giving up. Cape Horn expeditions
routinely
use sponsons as safety back-up, instead of a paddlefloat, that is
unrealiable in waves

Unfortunate members of the public, including schoolchildren, have died
in
the water of hypothermia, although they were wearing PFDs. Always wear
a
PFD. And be able to get out of the water immediately. Your canoe or
kayak
with 20 second sponsons is your best chance, over swimming to shore
(then
having no dry clothes and equipment to prevent hypothermia.)
Many experts have died needlessly, struggling to get packs and canoes
to
shore.

Since 1993, over 1000 people have died in the U.S. in canoes and kayaks.
(U.S. Coast Guard).

The Instructor organizations are extremely defensive, misleading the
public
regarding their safety, despite the simple, inexpensive and commonsense
nature of sponsons.

Instructors normally do not use sit-on-top kayaks because the built-in
sponsons make these craft unlikely to need what the instructors teach.

They are unlikely to capsize, both in calm water or big surf. And if
they
capsize, the sponsons make them stable enough to climb out of cold
water.

C. What kind of proof is there for 20 SECOND SPONSONS?

We can take any group of schoolkids in the world, with normal physical
health, and canoes filled with secure packs full of camping gear,
have them capsize in any safe pool, clip on sponsons the first time,
no
practice, in 20 SECONDS, re-enter and paddle to safety, immediately,
without
recapsizing.

We can take the same group, exactly the same conditions, and try canoe
over
canoe. They won't even get the packs back in without capsize. Experts
have
died trying this, recapsizing again trying to bring in packs. This
leaves
people in the water a long time. They suffer hypothermia. In only a
few
minutes fingers are impaired. Hundreds of people have died this way.

And of course they CAN NEVER PADDLE TO SAFETY IN REAL WAVES, THAT JUST
REFILL THE CANOES. They just recapsize, and die in cold water, even
with a
PFD.

MANY EXPERTS HAVE PROVEN THIS WITH THEIR LIVES! Same with kayaks.

D. How can I be sure that I am safe enough?

Find some sensible and experienced paddling friends, who do not have
a macho
ego
about safety. Stay close to shore in calm, familiar waters. Some excellent
instruction exists. This instruction should keep you in safe waters
where
you learn how to paddle, and how to avoid hazards by reading the weather
etc., etc.

Be suspicious of highly techical skills, taking a long time to
learn,
saving your life. In emergencies, those skills are the first to fail
obviously. That is why safety EQUIPMENT, like PFDs and SPONSONS, are
much
more likely to save your life.

Use your commonsense before believing any hype that you can roll to
save
your life. Most "experts" will confess that they do not have an absolutely
reliable roll, even after years of practice. Why trust your life with
something you
know isn't reliable. This isn't rational, but neither are some instructors.

Some have died using a paddlefloat that leaves a kayak less stable than
before capsize.

E. Why aren't Sponsons more popular?

As I explained above, the instructor lobby threatened Seakayaker Magazine
and Canoe and Kayak Magazine when they reported the superiority of
sponsons.
The lobby dislikes sit-on-top kayaks too, because their superior stability
and safety,
means people don't ask for expensive rolling lessons, and dozens of
other
highly circumstantial and unreliable safety notions.

Sit-on-top kayaks with sponsons are wider than traditional kayaks and
are
used by lifeguards to save swimmers in surf and big waves. Narrower
kayaks
are much less stable and can't save anyone in surf or big waves.

To measure how crazy some "experts" are, they actually believe that
narrower
kayaks
are more stable in waves. This has been printed in Seakayaker Magazine!
Plainly Stupid.

A paddling newsgroup rec.boats.paddle actually organized a boycott of
sponsons at NANTAHALA. Shortly afterward a schoolchild was killed there.
Over 50 children have died in kayaks or canoes since that time
(1997), according to U.S. Coast Guard data.

F. When will commonsense force the canoe and kayak industry to equip
every
canoe and kayak with inexpensive sponsons?

To use the canoe rescue proof above (see the website pictures, on link
below),
the families of the first tragic victims to die in canoes can sue in
a court
of law for being cheated of 20 SECOND sponson safety. Any jury in a
swimming
pool demonstration
can clip on sponsons in 20 SECONDS and paddle immediately, fully flooded.

No-one will be able to drag a canoe over another canoe quickly, let
alone
remove
and replace heavy packs. Then reenter without more water getting in.
Of
course waves just refill the canoes in real life and they die. Of course
you
also depend on
getting a second canoe to rescue the capsized canoe in rough conditions.

With sponsons, you only need 20 seconds, then paddle, flooded, to safety.
You don't need to wait in cold water for the second canoe,
that risks capsize and death too.

The first canoe deaths brought to court will ensure that all canoes
and
kayaks
will eventually have sponsons. Sad but true. The industry is quite
negligent.

Please Advise Anyone:
Suffering from a Canoe or Kayak Death
To Contact The Family Lawyer who will contact
me at the website. Most families are so
devastated that it is best to use a local attorney
known to the family, to organize all legal matters,
to avoid further traumatization.

Canoe and Kayaking Deaths are 10 Times
Ford/Firestone. Most are easily preventable.
Above site has link for Trial Lawyer Initiatives.
This enables insurance companies to
compensate grieving families and install
comprehensive safety for Y camps, Boy Scouts
and the public, for less than $20 a life per boat in
large economies of scale, like seat belts in cars.
Essentially free safety to consumers, absorbed
by canoe and kayak distributing and retailing
profit margins. Hypothermia kills, without the
most reliable means to escape cold water.

"Ulli Hoger" <hoe...@erase-this.zoology.uni-frankfurt.de> wrote in
message

news:3A26CD14.1A50C5EF@erase-this.zoology.uni-frankfurt.de...

- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -

> Missing the point?
> Isn't there a difference between boycotting a retailer and telling
> retailers about questionable behaviour, or policies, or products
of one
> of their suppliers? In this particular case I don't see a reason
to do
> #1, #2 makes sense and leaves the boycott decission to the dealer.
This
> way it will also hurt the ones which deserve it.
> I believe that somebody like Mr. Sponson is hardly able to hurt the
> sport or the industry. His argumentation is to shallow and he has
no
> forum other than free and open ones like this on to get his message
out.
> Every media under professional management might publish independend
> tests of his product and tell people what they can expect, but wouldn't
> publish his kind of propaganda, i.e. statistical data without proper
> citation and reviewing his analysis of this data. If they don't
do
> this, the editor doesn't deserve his/her job. The media would
loose its
> reputation. Here only one person lost his reputation, apparantly
already
> 2 or 4 years ago.

> Cheers

> Ulli

> Brian Nystrom wrote:

> > Ulli,

> > I used to own a retail business. There were times I dropped vendors
or
product lines
> > because they had policies that were harmful to the industry I was
in. I
WANTED people
> > to tell me about these types of problems, so my hard earned dollars
were
not spent
> > with someone who was trying to hurt my business. I don't agree
with
boycotting
> > dealers, but informing them about a potential problem is doing
them a
service. Tim
> > needs to learn that biting the hand that feeds him will get him
nowhere.

R Kirkman wrote:
> >Of course, having said that, I've never even seen a sp*nson in a
store, so i'm
> >not sure who i would possibly boycott.

> good point, do these things really exist?

They do, but I've never seen them in a store. The only place I've seen
them for
sale is in the Wyoming River Raiders catalog. I guess it's time to
send them an
email to let them know who they're dealing with.